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SCIENCE IN THE KITCHEN.
A Scientific Treatise on Food Substances and Their Dietetic Properties,
together with a Practical Explanation of the Principles of Healthful
Cookery, and a Large Number of Original, Palatable, and Wholesome Recipes.
by
MRS. E. E. KELLOGG, A.M.
Superintendent of the Sanitarium School of Cookery and of the Bay View
Assembly School of Cookery, and Chairman of the World's Fair Committee
on Food Supplies, for Michigan
1893
PREFACE.
The interest in scientific cookery, particularly in cookery as related
to health, has manifestly increased in this country within the last
decade as is evidenced by the success which has attended every
intelligent effort for the establishment of schools for instruction in
cookery in various parts of the United States. While those in charge of
these schools have presented to their pupils excellent opportunities for
the acquirement of dexterity in the preparation of toothsome and
tempting viands, but little attention has been paid to the science of
dietetics, or what might be termed the hygiene of cookery.
A little less than ten years ago the Sanitarium at Battle Creek Mich.,
established an experimental kitchen and a school of cookery under the
supervision of Mrs. Dr. Kellogg, since which time, researches in the
various lines of cookery and dietetics have been in constant progress in
the experimental kitchen, and regular sessions of the school of cookery
have been held. The school has gradually gained in popularity, and the
demand for instruction has become so great that classes are in session
during almost the entire year.
During this time, Mrs. Kellogg has had constant oversight of the cuisine
of both the Sanitarium and the Sanitarium Hospital, preparing bills of
fare for the general and diet tables, and supplying constantly new
methods and original recipes to meet the changing and growing demands of
an institution numbering always from 500 to 700 inmates.
These large opportunities for observation, research, and experience,
have gradually developed a system of cookery, the leading features of
which are so entirely novel and so much in advance of the methods
heretofore in use, that it may be justly styled, _A New System of
Cookery_. It is a singular and lamentable fact, the evil consequences of
which are wide-spread, that the preparation of food, although involving
both chemical and physical processes, has been less advanced by the
results of modern researches and discoveries in chemistry and physics,
than any other department of human industry. Iron mining, glass-making,
even the homely art of brick-making, and many of the operations of the
farm and the dairy, have been advantageously modified by the results of
the fruitful labors of modern scientific investigators. But the art of
cookery is at least a century behind in the march of scientific
progress. The mistress of the kitchen is still groping her way amid the
uncertainties of mediaeval methods, and daily bemoaning the sad results
of the "rule of thumb." The chemistry of cookery is as little known to
the average housewife as were the results of modern chemistry to the old
alchemists; and the attempt to make wholesome, palatable, and
nourishing food by the methods commonly employed, is rarely more
successful than that of those misguided alchemists in transmuting lead
and copper into silver and gold.
The new cookery brings order from out the confusion of mixtures and
messes, often incongruence and incompatible, which surrounds the average
cook, by the elucidation of the principles which govern the operations
of the kitchen, with the same certainty with which the law of gravity
rules the planets.
Those who have made themselves familiar with Mrs. Kellogg's system of
cookery, invariably express themselves as trebly astonished: first, at
the simplicity of the methods employed; secondly, at the marvelous
results both as regards palatableness, wholesomeness, and
attractiveness; thirdly, that it had never occurred to them "to do this
way before."
This system does not consist simply of a rehash of what is found in
every cook book, but of new methods, which are the result of the
application of the scientific principles of chemistry and physics to the
preparation of food in such a manner as to make it the most nourishing,
the most digestible, and the most inviting to the eye and to the palate.
Those who have tested the results of Mrs. Kellogg's system of cookery at
the Sanitarium tables, or in their own homes through the instruction of
her pupils, have been most enthusiastic in their expressions of
satisfaction and commendation. Hundreds of original recipes which have
appeared in her department in _Good Health_, "Science in the Household",
have been copied into other journals, and are also quite largely
represented in the pages of several cook books which have appeared
within the last few years.
The great success which attended the cooking school in connection with
the Bay View Assembly (the Michigan Chautauqua), as well as the uniform
success which has met the efforts of many of the graduates of the
Sanitarium school of cookery who have undertaken to introduce the new
system through the means of cooking classes in various parts of the
United States, has created a demand for a fuller knowledge of the
system.
This volume is the outgrowth of the practical and experimental work, and
the popular demand above referred to. Its preparation has occupied the
entire leisure time of the author during the last five or six years. No
pains or expense has been spared to render the work authoritative on all
questions upon which it treats, and in presenting it to the public, the
publishers feel the utmost confidence that the work will meet the
highest expectations of those who have waited impatiently for its
appearance during the months which have elapsed since its preparation
was first announced. PUBLISHERS.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
FOODS
Properties of food
Food elements
Uses of food elements
Proper combinations of food
Proper proportion of food elements
Condiments
Relation of condiments to intemperance
Variety in food
Table topics.
THE DIGESTION OF FOODS
The digestive organs
The digestion of a mouthful of bread
Salivary digestion
Stomach digestion
Intestinal digestion
Other uses of the digestive fluids
Absorption
Liver digestion
Time required for digestion
Dr. Beaumont's table made from experiments on Alexis St. Martin
Hygiene of digestion
Hasty eating
Drinking freely at meals
Eating between meals
Simplicity in diet
Eating when tired
Eating too much
How much food is enough
Excess of certain food elements
Deficiency of certain food elements
Food combinations
Table topics.
COOKERY
Evils of bad cookery
The principles of scientific cookery
Fuels
Making fires
Care of fires
Methods of cooking
Roasting
Broiling or grilling
Baking
The oven thermometer
Boiling
The boiling point of water
How to raise the boiling point of water
Action of hot and cold water upon foods
Steaming
Stewing
Frying
Evaporation
Adding foods to boiling liquids
Measuring
Comparative table of weights and measures
Mixing the material
Stirring
Beating
Kneading
Temperature
Cooking utensils
Porcelain ware
Granite ware
Galvanized iron ware
Tests for lead
Adulterated tin
Table topics.
THE HOUSEHOLD WORKSHOP
Description of a convenient kitchen
The kitchen furniture
Cupboards
A convenient kitchen table
The kitchen sink
Drainpipes
Stoves and ranges
Oil and gas stoves
The "Aladdin Cooker"
Kitchen utensils
The tin closet
The dish closet
The pantry
The storeroom
The refrigerator
The water supply
Test for pure water
Filters
Cellars
Kitchen conveniences
The steam cooker
The vegetable press-The lemon drill
The handy waiter
The wall cabinet
The percolater holder
Kneading table
Dish-towel rack
Kitchen brushes
Vegetable brush
Table topics.
THE GRAINS, OR CEREALS, AND THEIR PREPARATION
General properties of grains
Cooking of grains
The double boiler
Table showing amount of liquid, and time required for cooking
different grains
Grains for breakfast-Grains an economical food
Wheat
Description of a grain of wheat
Preparation and cooking
_Recipes_:
Pearl wheat
Cracked wheat
Rolled wheat
Boiled wheat
Wheat with raisins
Wheat with fresh fruit
Molded wheat
Finer mill products of wheat
_Recipes_:
Farina
Farina with fig sauce
Farina with fresh fruit
Molded farina
Graham grits
Graham mush
Graham mush No. 2
Graham mush No. 3
Graham mush with dates
Plum porridge
Graham apple mush
Granola mush
Granola fruit mush
Granola peach mush
Bran jelly
The oat, description of
Oatmeal
Brose
Budrum
Flummery
Preparation and cooking of oats
_Recipes_:
Oatmeal mush
Oatmeal fruit mush
Oatmeal blancmange
Oatmeal Blancmange No. 2
Jellied oatmeal
Mixed mush
Rolled oats
Oatmeal with apple
Oatmeal porridge
Barley, description of
Gofio
Scotch milled or pot barley
Pearl barley
Suggestions for cooking barley
_Recipes_:
Baked barley
Pearl barley with raisins
Pearl barley with lemon sauce
Rice, description of
Rice paddy
Preparation and cooking of rice
_Recipes_:
Steamed rice
Boiled rice
Rice with fig sauce
Orange rice
Rice with raisins
Rice with peaches
Browned rice
Rye, description of
Rye meal
Rye flour
_Recipes_:
Rolled rye
Rye mush
Maize, or Indian corn, description of
Suggestions for cooking corn
_Recipes_:
Corn meal mush
Corn meal mush with fruit
Corn meal cubes
Browned mush
Samp
Cerealine flakes
Hulled corn
Coarse hominy
Fine hominy or grits
Popped corn
Macaroni, description of
Semolina
Spaghetti
Vermicelli
To select macaroni
To prepare and cook macaroni
_Recipes_:
Homemade macaroni
Boiled macaroni
Macaroni with cream sauce
Macaroni with tomato sauce
Macaroni baked with granola
Eggs and macaroni
Table topics.
BREADSTUFFS AND BREAD-MAKING
The origin of bread
Chestnut bread
Peanut bread
Breadstuffs
Qualities necessary for good bread
Superiority of bread over meat
Graham flour
Wheat meal
Whole-wheat or entire wheat flour
How to select flour
To keep flour
Deleterious adulterations of flour
Tests for adulterated flour
Chemistry of bread-making
Bread made light by fermentation
The process of fermentation
Fermentative agents
Yeast
Homemade yeasts
How to keep yeast
Bitter yeast
Tests for yeast
Starting the bread
Proportion of materials needed
Utensils
When to set the sponge
Temperature for bread-making
How to set the sponge
Lightness of the bread
Kneading the dough
How to manipulate the dough in kneading
How many times shall bread be kneaded
Dryness of the surface
Size of loaves
Proper temperature of the oven
How to test the heat of an oven
Care of bread after baking
Best method of keeping bread
Test of good fermented bread
Whole-wheat and Graham breads
Toast
Steamed bread
Liquid yeast
_Recipes_:
Raw potato yeast
Raw potato yeast No. 2
Hop yeast
Boiled potato yeast
Boiled potato yeast No. 2
Fermented breads
_Recipes_:
Milk bread with white flour
Vienna bread
Water bread
Fruit roll
Fruit loaf
Potato bread
Pulled bread
Whole-wheat bread
Whole-wheat bread No. 2
Miss B's one-rising bread
Potato bread with whole-wheat flour
Rye bread
Graham bread
Graham bread No. 2
Graham bread No. 3
Raised biscuit
Rolls
Imperial rolls
French rolls
Crescents
Parker House rolls
Braids
Brown bread
Date bread
Fruit loaf with Graham and whole-wheat flour
Raised corn bread
Corn cake
Oatmeal bread
Milk yeast bread
Graham salt rising bread
Unfermented breads
Passover cakes
Tortillas
Evils of chemical bread raising
Rochelle salts in baking powders
General directions
Gem irons
Perforated sheet-iron pan for rolls
Unfermented batter breads
Unfermented dough breads
_Recipes_:
Whole-wheat puffs
Whole-wheat puffs No. 2
Whole-wheat puffs No. 3
Graham puffs
Graham puffs No. 2
Currant puffs
Graham gems
Crusts
Rye puffs
Rye puffs No. 2
Rye gems
Blueberry gems
Hominy gems
Sally Lunn gems
Corn puffs
Corn puffs No. 2
Corn puffs No 3
Corn puffs No. 4
Corn dodgers
Corn dodgers No. 2
Cream corn cakes
Hoe cakes
Oatmeal gems
Snow gems
Pop overs
Granola gems
Bean gems
Breakfast rolls
Sticks
Cream Graham rolls
Corn mush rolls
Fruit rolls
Cream mush rolls
Beaten biscuit
Cream crisps
Cream crisps No. 2
Graham crisps
Oatmeal crisps
Graham crackers
Fruit crackers
Table topics.
FRUITS:
Chemical constituents of
Value as nutrients
Structure of fruits
The jelly-producing principle
Digestibility of fruits
Unripe fruits
Table of fruit analysis
Ripe fruit and digestive disorders
Over-ripe and decayed fruits
Dangerous bacteria on unwashed fruit
Free use of fruit lessens desire for alcoholic stimulants
Beneficial use of fruits in disease
Apples
The pear
The quince
The peach
The plum
The prune
The apricot
The cherry
The olive; its cultivation and preservation
The date, description and uses of
The orange
The lemon
The sweet lemon or bergamot
The citron
The lime
The grape-fruit
The pomegranate, its antiquity
The grape
Zante currants
The gooseberry
The currant
The whortleberry
The blueberry
The cranberry
The strawberry
The raspberry
The blackberry
The mulberry
The melon
The fig, its antiquity and cultivation
The banana
Banana meal
The pineapple
Fresh fruit for the table
Selection of fruit for the table
Directions for serving fruits
Apples
Bananas
Cherries
Currants
Goosberries
Grapes
Melons
Oranges
Peaches and pears
Peaches and cream
Pineapples
Plums
Pressed Figs
Raspberries, Blackberries, Dewberries, Blueberries and Whortlberries
Frosted fruit
Keeping fresh fruit
Directions for packing, handling, and keeping fruits
_Recipes_:
To keep grapes
To keep lemons and oranges
To keep cranberries
Cooked fruit
General suggestions for cooking fruit
_Recipes_:
Baked apples
Citron apples
Lemon apples
Baked pears
Baked quince
Pippins and quince
Baked apple sauce
Baked apple sauce No. 2
Apples stewed whole
Steamed apples
Compote of apples
Apple compote No. 2
Stewed pears
Stewed apple sauce
Boiled apples with syrup
Stewed apples
Stewed crab apples
Sweet apple sauce with condensed apple juice
Apples with raisins
Apples with apricots
Peaches, pears, cherries, berries, and other small fruits
Baked apples
Baked pears
Baked peaches
Cranberries
Cranberries with raisins
Cranberries with sweet apples
Oranges and apples
Stewed raisins
Dried apples
Dried apples with other dried fruit
Dried apricots and peaches
Evaporated peach sauce
Dried pears
Small fruits
Prunes
Prune marmalade
Canning fruit
Selection of cans
How to test and sterilize cans
Selection of fruit
Directions for preparing fruit
Cooking fruit for canning
Storing of canned fruit
Mold on canned fruit
Opening of canned fruit
Rules for selecting canned fruit
_Recipes_:
To can strawberries
To can raspberries, blackberries and other small fruit
To can gooseberries
To can peaches
To can pears
To can plums
To can cherries
To can mixed fruit
Quinces and apples
Plums with sweet apples
To can grapes
To can crab apples
To can apples
To can pineapples
Fruit jellies
_Recipes_:
Apple jelly
Apple jelly without sugar
Berry and currant jellies
Cherry jelly
Crab apple jelly
Cranberry jelly
Grape jelly
Orange jelly
Peach Jelly
Quince jelly
Plum jelly
Fruit in jelly
Fruit juices, value of
How to prepare fruit juices
_Recipes:_
Grape juice or unfermented wine
Grape juice No. 2
Another method
Fruit syrup
Currant syrup
Orange syrup
Lemon syrup
Lemon syrup No 2
Blackberry syrup
Fruit ices
Nuts
Composition and nutritive value of
The almond
Almond bread
The Brazil nut
The cocoanut, its uses in tropical countries
The chestnut
Chestnut flour
The acorn
The hazel nut
The filbert
The cobnut
The walnut
The butternut
The hickory nut
The pecan
The peanut or ground nut
_Recipes:_
To blanch almonds
Boiled chestnuts
Mashed chestnuts
Baked chestnuts
To keep nuts fresh
Table topics.
THE LEGUMES
Composition and nutritive value
Legumes as a substitute for animal food
Legumin, or vegetable casein
Chinese cheese
Legumes the "pulse" of Scripture
Diet of the pyramid builders
Digestibility of legumes
A fourteenth century recipe
The green legumes
Suggestions for cooking
Slow cooking preferable
Soaking the dry seeds
Effects of hard water upon the legumes
Temperature of water for cooking
Amount of water required
Addition of salt to legumes
Peas, description of
Buying votes with peas
A commemorative dinner
Peas bainocks
Peas sausages
Peas pudding
Time required for cooking
_Recipes:_
Stewed split peas
Peas puree
Mashed peas
Peas cakes
Dried green peas
Beans, description of
Mention of beans in Scripture
Beans in mythology
Time required for digestion
Method of cooking
Experiment of an English cook
Parboiling beans
Time required to cook
_Recipes:_
Baked beans
Boiled beans
Beans boiled in a bag
Scalloped beans
Stewed beans
Mashed beans
Stewed Lima beans
Succotash
Pulp succotash
Lentils, description of
Use of lentils by the ancients
Lentil meal
Preparation for cooking
_Recipes:_
Lentil puree
Lentils mashed with beans
Lentil gravy with rice
Table topics.
VEGETABLES
Composition and nutritive value of vegetables
Exclusive diet of vegetables not desirable
To select vegetables
Poison in potato sprouts
Stale vegetables a cause of illness
Keeping vegetables
To freshen withered vegetables
Storing winter vegetables
Preparation and cooking
To clean vegetables for cooking
Methods of cooking
Time required for cooking various vegetables
Irish potato, description of
The chemistry of cooking
Digestibility of the potato
New potatoes
Preparation and cooking
_Recipes_:
Potatoes boiled in "jackets"
Boiled potatoes without skins
Steamed potatoes
Roasted potatoes
Baked potatoes
Stuffed potatoes
Stuffed potatoes No. 2
Mashed potatoes
New potatoes
Cracked potatoes
Creamed potatoes
Scalloped potatoes
Stewed potatoes
Potatoes stewed with celery
Potato snow balls
Potato cakes
Potato cakes with egg
Potato puffs
Browned potatoes
Ornamental potatoes
Broiled potatoes
Warmed-over potatoes
Vegetable hash
The sweet potato, description of
Preparation and cooking
_Recipes_:
Baked sweet potatoes
Baked sweet potatoes No 2
Boiled sweet potatoes
Steamed sweet potatoes
Browned sweet potatoes
Mashed sweet potatoes
Potato hash
Roasted sweet potatoes
Turnips, description of
Preparation and cooking
_Recipes_:
Boiled turnips
Baked turnips
Creamed turnips
Chopped turnips
Mashed turnips
Scalloped turnips
Steamed turnips
Stewed turnips
Turnips in juice
Turnips with cream sauce
Parsnips, description of
Preparation and cooking
_Recipes_:
Baked parsnips
Baked parsnips No. 2
Boiled parsnips
Browned parsnips
Creamed parsnips
Mashed parsnips
Parsnips with cream sauce
Parsnips with egg sauce
Parsnips with potatoes
Stewed parsnips
Stewed parsnips with celery
Carrots, description of
Preparation and cooking
_Recipes_:
Boiled carrots
Carrots with egg sauce
Stewed carrots
Beets, description of
Preparation and cooking
_Recipes_:
Baked beets
Baked beets No. 2
Beets and potatoes
Beet hash
Beet greens
Beet salad or chopped beets
Beet salad No 2
Boiled beets
Stewed beets
Cabbage, description of
Preparation and cooking
_Recipes_:
Baked cabbage
Boiled cabbage
Cabbage and tomatoes
Cabbage and celery
Cabbage hash
Chopped cabbage or cabbage salad
Mashed cabbage
Stewed cabbage
Cauliflower and Broccoli, description of
Preparation and cooking
_Recipes_:
Boiled cauliflower
Browned cauliflower
Cauliflower with egg sauce
With tomato sauce
Stewed cauliflower
Scalloped cauliflower
Spinach, description of
Preparation and cooking
Celery
To keep celery fresh
_Recipes_:
Celery salad
Stewed celery
Stewed celery No. 2
Celery with tomato sauce
Celery and potato hash
Asparagus, description of
Preparation and cooking
_Recipes_:
Asparagus and peas
Asparagus Points
Asparagus on toast
Asparagus with cream sauce
Asparagus with egg sauce
Stewed asparagus
Sea-kale, description of
Lettuce and radish, description of
_Recipes:_
Lettuce
Radishes
Cymling
Description
Preparation and cooking
_Recipes:_
Mashed squash
Squash with egg sauce
Stewed squash
Winter squash
Preparation and cooking
Time required for cooking
_Recipes_:
Baked squash
Steamed squash
The pumpkin, description of
_Recipes_:
Baked pumpkin
Stewed pumpkin
Dried pumpkin
Tomato, description of
Preparation and cooking
_Recipes_:
Baked tomatoes
Baked tomatoes No. 2
Scalloped tomatoes
Stewed corn and tomatoes
Tomato gravy
Tomato salad
Tomato salad No. 2
Broiled tomatoes
Tomato pudding
Stewed tomatoes
Tomato with okra
Egg plant, description of
Nutritive value
_Recipes_:
Scalloped egg plant
Baked egg plant
Cucumber, description of
Digestibility
Preparation and cooking
Salsify or vegetable oyster, description of
Preparation and cooking
_Recipes_:
Scalloped vegetable oysters
Stewed vegetable oysters
Green corn, peas, and beans, description of
General suggestions for selecting and cooking
_Recipes for corn_:
Baked corn
Baked corn No. 2
Boiled green corn
Stewed corn pulp
Corn cakes
Corn pudding
Roasted green corn
Stewed green corn
Summer succotash
Dried corn
_Recipe for peas_:
Stewed peas
_Recipes for beans_:
Lima beans
Shelled beans
String beans
Canning vegetables
_Recipes_:
Canned corn
Canned corn and tomatoes
Canned peas
Canned tomatoes
Canned tomatoes No. 2
String beans
Canned pumpkin and squash
Table topics.
SOUPS
Value of soup as an article of diet
Superiority of soups made from grain and legumes
Economical value of such soups
Digestibility of soups
Cooking of material for soups
Use of a colander in preparing soups
Quantity of salt required
Flavoring soups
Seasoning of soup
Chinese soup strainer
Whole grains, macaroni, shredded vegetables, etc., for soups
Milk in the preparation of soups
Consistency of soups
Preparation of soups from left-over fragments
Croutons
_Recipes_:
Asparagus soup
Baked bean soup
Bean and corn soup
Bean and hominy soup
Bean and potato soup
Bean and tomato soup
Black bean soup
Black bean soup No. 2
Bran stock
Brown soup
Canned green pea soup
Canned corn soup
Carrot soup
Celery soup
Chestnut soup
Combination soup
Combination soup No. 2
Another
Another
Cream pea soup
Cream barley soup
Green corn soup
Green pea soup
Green bean soup
Kornlet soup
Kornlet and tomato soup
Lentil soup
Lentil and parsnip soup
Lima bean soup
Macaroni soup
Oatmeal soup
Parsnip soup
Parsnip soup No. 2
Pea and tomato soup
Plain rice soup
Potato and rice soup
Potato soup
Potato and vermicelli soup
Sago and potato soup
Scotch broth
Split pea soup
Sweet potato soup
Swiss potato soup
Swiss lentil soup
Tomato and macaroni soup
Tomato cream soup
Tomato and okra soup
Tomato soup with vermicelli
Vegetable oyster soup
Vegetable soup
Vegetable soup No. 2
Vegetable soup No. 3
Vegetable soup No. 4
Velvet Soup
Vermicelli soup No. 2
White celery soup
Table topics.
BREAKFAST DISHES
Importance of a good breakfast
Requirements for a good breakfast
Pernicious custom of using fried and indigestible foods for breakfast
Use of salted foods an auxiliary to the drink habit
The ideal breakfast
Use of fruit for breakfast
Grains for breakfast
An appetizing dish
Preparation of zwieback
Preparation of toast
_Recipes_:
Apple toast
Apricot toast
Asparagus toast
Banana toast
Berry toast
Berry toast No. 2
Celery toast
Cream toast
Cream toast with poached egg
Cherry toast
Gravy toast
Dry toast with hot cream
Grape toast
Lentil toast
Prune toast
Peach toast
Snowflake toast
Tomato toast
Vegetable oyster toast
_Miscellaneous breakfast dishes:_
Brewis
Blackberry mush
Dry granola
Frumenty
Macaroni with raisins
Macaroni with kornlet
Peach mush
Rice with lemon
Table topics.
DESSERTS
Appropriate and healthful desserts
Objections to the use of desserts
The simplest dessert
General suggestions
Importance of good material
Preparation of dried fruit for dessert
Molded desserts
_Suggestions for flavoring:_
To prepare almond paste
Cocoanut flavor
Orange and lemon flavor
To color sugar
Fruit desserts
_Recipes:_
Apple dessert
Apple meringue dessert. Apple rose cream
Apple snow
Baked apples with cream
Baked sweet apple dessert
Bananas in syrup
Baked bananas
Fresh fruit compote
Grape apples
Peach cream
Prune dessert
Desserts made of fruit with grains, bread, etc.
_Recipes:_
Apple sandwich
Apple sandwich No. 2
Baked apple pudding
Barley fruit pudding
Barley fig pudding
Blackberry cornstarch pudding
Cocoanut and cornstarch blancmange
Cornstarch blancmange
cornstarch with raisins
Cornstarch with apples
Cornstarch fruit mold
Cornstarch fruit mold No. 2
Cracked wheat pudding
Cracked wheat pudding No. 2
Farina blancmange
Farina fruit mold
Fruit pudding
Jam pudding
Plain fruit pudding or Brown Betty
Prune pudding
Rice meringue
Rice snowball
Rice fruit dessert
Rice dumpling
Rice cream pudding
Rice pudding with raisins
Red rice mold
Rice and fruit dessert
Rice and tapioca pudding
Rice flour mold
Rice and stewed apple dessert
Rice and strawberry dessert
Stewed fruit pudding
Strawberry minute pudding
Sweet apple pudding
Whortleberry pudding
Desserts with tapioca, sago, manioca, and sea moss
_Recipes_:
Apple tapioca
Apple tapioca No. 2
Banana dessert
Blackberry tapioca
Cherry pudding
Fruit tapioca
Molded tapioca with fruit
Pineapple tapioca
Prune and tapioca pudding
Tapioca and fig pudding
Peach tapioca
Tapioca jelly
Apple sago pudding
Red sago mold
Sago fruit pudding
Sago pudding
Manioca with fruit
Raspberry manioca mold
Sea moss blancmange
Desserts made with gelatin
Gelatine an excellent culture medium
Dangers in the use of gelatine
Quantity to be used
_Recipes_:
Apples in jelly
Apple shape
Banana dessert
Clear dessert
Fruit foam dessert
Fruit shape
Gelatine custard
Layer-pudding
Lemon jelly
Jelly with fruit
Orange dessert; Oranges in jelly
Orange jelly
Snow pudding
Desserts with crusts
_Recipes_:
Apple tart
Gooseberry tart
Cherry tart
Strawberry and other fruit shortcakes
Banana shortcake
Lemon shortcake
Berry shortcake with prepared cream
Cream
Raised pie
Baked apple loaf
Custard puddings
Importance of slow cooking
Best utensils for cooking
Custard desserts in cups
To stir beaten eggs into heated milk
To flavor custards and custard puddings
_Recipes_:
Apple custard
Apple custard No. 2
Apple custard No. 3
Apple cornstarch custard
Apple and bread custard
Almond cornstarch pudding
Almond cream
Apple charlotte
Banana custard
Boiled custard
Boiled custard bread pudding
Bread and fruit custard
Bread custard pudding
Bread and fig pudding
Bread and apricot pudding
Caramel custard
Carrot pudding
Cocoanut cornstarch pudding
Cocoanut custard
Cocoanut rice custard
Corn meal pudding
Corn meal pudding No. 2
Corn meal and fig pudding
Cornstarch meringue
Cracked wheat pudding
Cup custard
Farina custard
Farina pudding
Floating island
Fruit custard
Graham grits pudding
Ground rice pudding
Lemon pudding
Lemon cornstarch pudding
Lemon cornstarch pudding No. 2
Macaroni pudding
Molded rice or snowballs
Orange float
Orange custard
Orange pudding
Peach meringue
Picnic pudding
Plain cornstarch pudding
Plain custard
Prune pudding
Prune whip
Rice apple custard pudding
Rice custard pudding
Rice snow
Rice snow with jelly
Rice with eggs
Snow pudding
Steamed custard
Strawberry charlotte
Pop corn pudding
Sago custard pudding
Sago and fruit custard pudding
Snowball custard
Tapioca custard
Tapioca pudding
Vermicelli pudding
White custard
White custard No. 2
Steamed pudding
Precautions to be observed in steaming puddings
_Recipes:_
Batter pudding
Bread and fruit custard
Date pudding
Rice balls
Steamed bread custard
Steamed fig pudding
Pastry and cake
Deleterious effects from the use of
Reasons for indigestibility
General directions for making pies
_Recipes_
Paste for pies
Corn meal crust
Granola crust
Paste for tart shells
Cream filling
Grape tart
Lemon filling
Tapioca filling
Apple custard pie
Banana pie
Bread pie
Carrot pie
Cocoanut pie
Cocoanut pie No. 2
Cream pie
Cranberry pie
Dried apple pie
Dried apple pie with raisins
Dried apricot pie
Farina pie
Fruit pie
Grape jelly pie
Jelly custard pie
Lemon pie
Lemon meringue custard
One crust peach pie
Orange pie
Peach custard pie
Prune pie
Pumpkin pie
Pumpkin pie No. 2
Pumpkin pie without eggs
Simple custard pie
Squash pie
Squash pie without eggs
Sweet apple custard pie
Sweet potato pie
Cake
General suggestions for preparation of
Cake made light with yeast
Cake made light with air
_Recipes:_
Apple cake
Cocoanut custard cake
Cream cake
Delicate cup cake
Fig layer cake
Fruit jelly cake
Gold and silver cake
Icing for cakes
Orange cake
Fruit cake
Loaf cake
Pineapple cake
Plain buns
Sponge cake
Sugar crisps
Variety cake
Table topics.
GRAVIES AND SAUCES
Importance of proper preparation
Accuracy of measurement
Proportion of material necessary
The double boiler for cooking gravies
Flavoring of gravies for vegetables
Gravies and sauces for vegetables
_Recipes:_
Brown sauce
Cream and white sauce
Celery sauce
Egg sauce
Pease gravy
Tomato gravy
Tomato cream gravy
Sauces for desserts and puddings
_Recipes:_
Almond sauce
Caramel sauce
Cocoanut sauce
Cream sauce
Cranberry pudding sauce
Custard sauce
Egg sauce
Egg sauce No. 2
Foamy sauce
Fruit cream
Fruit sauce
Fruit sauce No. 2
Lemon pudding sauce
Mock cream
Molasses sauce
Orange sauce
Peach sauce
Plain pudding sauce
Red Sauce
Rose cream Sago sauce
Whipped cream sauce
Table topics.
BEVERAGES
Large quantities of fluid prejudicial to digestion
Wholesome beverages
The cup that cheers but not inebriates
Harmful substances contained in tea
Theine
Tannin
Use of tea a cause of sleeplessness and nervous disorders
Tea a stimulant
Tea not a food
Coffee, cocoa, and chocolate
Caffein
Adulteration of tea and coffee
Substitutes for tea and coffee
_Recipes:_
Beet coffee
Caramel coffee
Caramel coffee No. 2
Caramel coffee No. 3
Caramel coffee No. 4
Mrs. T's caramel coffee
Parched grain coffee
Wheat, oats, and barley coffee
_Recipes for cold beverages:_
Blackberry beverage
Fruit beverage
Fruit beverage No. 2
Fruit cordial
Grape beverage
Lemonade
Mixed lemonade
Oatmeal drink
Orangeade
Pineapple beverage
Pineapple lemonade
Pink lemonade
Sherbet
Tisane
Table topics.
MILK, CREAM, AND BUTTER
Milk, chemical composition of
Proportion of food elements
Microscopic examination of milk
Casein
Casein coagulated by the introduction of acid
Spontaneous coagulation or souring of milk
Adulteration of milk
Quality of milk influenced by the food of the animal
Diseased milk
Kinds of milk to be avoided
Distribution of germs by milk
Proper utensils for keeping milk
Where to keep milk
Dr. Dougall's experiments on the absorbent properties of milk
Washing of milk dishes
Treatment of milk for cream rising
Temperature at which cream rises best
Importance of sterilizing milk
To sterilize milk for immediate use
To sterilize milk to keep
Condensed milk
Cream, composition of
Changes produced by churning
Skimmed milk, composition of
Buttermilk, composition of
Digestibility of cream
Sterilized cream
Care of milk for producing cream
Homemade creamery
Butter, the composition of
Rancid butter
Tests of good butter
Flavor and color of butter
Artificial butter
Test for oleomargarine
Butter in ancient times
Butter making
Best conditions for the rising of cream
Upon what the keeping qualities of butter depend
Cheese
Tyrotoxicon
_Recipes_:
Hot milk
Devonshire or clotted cream
Cottage cheese
Cottage cheese from buttermilk
Cottage cheese from sour milk
French butter
Shaken milk
Emulsified butter
Table topics.
EGGS
Eggs a concentrated food
Composition of the egg
How to choose eggs
Quality of eggs varied by the food of the fowl
Stale eggs
Test for eggs
How to keep eggs
To beat eggs
Albumen susceptible to temperature
Left-over eggs
_Recipes_:
Eggs in shell
Eggs in sunshine
Eggs poached in tomatoes
Eggs in cream
Poached or dropped eggs
Poached eggs with cream sauce
Quickly prepared eggs
Scrambled eggs
Steamed eggs
Whirled eggs
Omelets
_Recipes_:
Plain omelets
Foam omelets
Fancy omelets
soft omelets
Table topics.
MEATS
Character of meat
Nutritive value
Excrementitious elements
Flesh food a stimulant
Diseased meats
Jewish customs in regard to meat
Trichina
Tapeworm and other parasites
Meat unnecessary for health
The excessive use of meat tending to develop the animal propensities
Objections to its use
Pork
Calves' brains and other viscera
Meat pies
Scallops
Pates
Comparative nutritious value
Variation and flavor
Composition and digestibility
Selection of meats
Preservation of meats
Jerked beef
Pemmican
Preparation and cooking of meat
Frozen beef
Best methods of cooking
Boiling
Stewing
Steaming
Roasting
Broiling
Beef, economy and adaptability in selection of
_Recipes_:
Broiled beef
Cold meat stew
Pan-broiled steak
Pan-broiled steak No. 2
Roast beef
Smothered beef
Vegetables with stewed beef
Stewed beef
Mutton
Cause of Strong flavor of
_Recipes_:
Boiled leg of mutton
Broiled chops
Pot roast lamb
Roast mutton
Stewed mutton
Stewed mutton chop
Stewed mutton chop No. 2
Veal and lamb
Poultry and game
To dress poultry and birds
To truss a fowl or bird
To stuff a fowl or bird
_Recipes_:
Birds baked in sweet potatoes
Boiled fowl
Broiled birds
Broiled fowl
Corn and chicken
Pigeons
quails
and partridges
Roast chicken
Roast turkey
Smothered chicken
Steamed chicken
Stewed chicken
Fish, two classes of
Difference in nutritive value
Flavor and wholesomeness
Poison fish
Parasites in fish
Fish as a brain food
Salted fish
Shellfish (Oysters, Clams, Lobsters, Crabs)
Not possessed of high nutritive value
Natural scavengers
Poisonous mussels
How to select and prepare fish
Frozen fish
Methods of cooking
_Recipes_:
Baked fish
Broiled fish
Meat soup
Preparation of stock
Selection of material for stock
Quantity of materials needed
Uses of scraps
Extracting the juice
Temperature of the water to be used
Correct proportion of water
Time required for cooking
Straining the stock
To remove the fat
Simple Stock or broth
Compound stock or double broth
To clarify soup stock
_Recipes_:
Asparagus soup
Barley
rice
sago
or tapioca soup
Caramel for coloring soup brown
Julienne soup
Tomato soup
White soup
Vermicelli or macaroni soup
Puree with chicken
Tapioca cream soup
Table Topics.
FOOD FOR THE SICK
Need of care in the preparation of food for the sick
What constitutes proper food for the sick
Knowledge of dietetics an important factor in the education of
every woman
No special dishes for all cases
Hot buttered toast and rich jellies objectionable
The simplest food the best
Scrupulous neatness in serving important
To coax a capricious appetite
A "purple" dinner
A "yellow" dinner
To facilitate the serving of hot foods
Cooking utensils
Gruel
Long-continued cooking needed
Use of the double boiler in the cooking of gruels
Gruel strainer
_Recipes_:
Arrowroot gruel
Barley gruel
Egg gruel
Egg gruel No. 2
Farina gruel
Flour gruel
Gluten gruel
Gluten gruel No. 2
Gluten cream
Gluten meal gruel
Graham gruel
Graham grits gruel
Gruel of prepared flour
Indian meal gruel
Lemon oatmeal gruel
Milk oatmeal gruel
Milk porridge
Oatmeal gruel
Oatmeal gruel No. 2
Oatmeal gruel No. 3
Peptonized' gluten gruel
Raisin gruel
Rice water
Preparations of milk
Milk diet
Advantages of
Quantity of milk needed
Digestibility of milk
_Recipes_:
Albumenized milk
Hot milk
Junket, or curded milk
Koumiss
Milk and lime water
Peptonized milk for infants
Beef tea, broths, etc.
Nutritive value
Testimony of Dr. Austin Flint
_Recipes_:
Beef extract
Beef juice
Beef tea
Beef tea and eggs
Beef broth and oatmeal
Bottled beef tea
Chicken broth
Mutton broth
Vegetable broth
Vegetable broth No. 2
Mixed vegetable broth
_Recipes for Panada_:
Broth panada
Chicken panada
Egg panada
Milk panada
Raisin panada
Grains for the sick
_Recipes_:
Gluten mush
Tomato gluten
Tomato gluten No. 2
Meats for the sick
Importance of simple preparation
_Recipes_:
Broiled steak
Chicken
Chicken jelly
Minced chicken
Mutton chop
Minced steak
Scraped steak
Eggs for the sick
_Recipes_:
Floated egg
Gluten meal custard
Gluten custard
Steamed eggs
Soft custard
Raw egg
White of egg
White of egg and milk
Refreshing drinks and delicacies for the sick
Nature's delicacies
How to serve
Fruit juices
_Recipes_:
Acorn coffee
Almond milk
Apple beverage
Apple beverage No. 2
Apple toast water
Baked milk
Barley lemonade
Barley and fruit drinks
Barley milk
Cranberry drink
Currantade
Crust coffee
Egg cream
Egg cream No. 2
Egg cream No. 3
Egg lemonade
Flaxseed coffee
Gum Arabic water
Hot water
Hot lemonade
Irish moss lemonade
Orangeade
Plain lemonade
Slippery elm tea
Toast water
Tamarind water
Bread
_Recipes_;
Diabetic biscuit
Diabetic biscuit No. 2
Gluten meal gems
Jellies and other desserts for the side
_Recipes_:
Arrowroot jelly
Arrowroot blancmange
Currant jelly
Iceland moss jelly
Iceland moss blancmange
Orange whey
White custard
Table topics.
FOOD FOR THE AGED AND THE VERY YOUNG
Requisites of food for the aged
Stimulating diet not necessary
Flesh food unsuitable
Bill of fare
Quantity of food for the aged
Heavy meals a tax upon digestion
Cornaro's testimony
Diet for the young
Causes of mortality among young children
Best artificial food
Use of sterilized milk.
Difference between cows' milk and human milk
Common method of preparing cows' milk
Artificial human milk
Artificial human milk No. 2
Artificial human milk No. 3
Peptonized milk
Mucilaginous food excellent in gastro-enteritis
Preparation of food for infants
Time required for digestion of artificial food
Quantity of food for infants
Rules for finding the amount of food needed
Table for the feeding of infants
Interval between feeding
Intervals for feeding at different ages
Manner of feeding artificial foods
Danger from unclean utensils
Diet of older children
An abundance of nitrogenous material important
Flesh food unnecessary
Experiments of Dr. Camman
Testimony of Dr. Clouston
Candy and similar sweets
Eating between meals
Education of the appetite
Inherited appetites and tendencies
Table topics.
FRAGMENTS AND LEFT-OVER FOODS
Preserving and utilizing the left-over fragments
Precautions to be observed
Uses of stale bread
To insure perfect preservation of fragments
Preparation of zwieback and croutons
Left-over grains
Left-over vegetables
Left-over meats
Left-over milk
Table topics.
THE ART OF DINING
Pleasant accessories essential
The dining room
Neatness an essential
Care of the dining room
Furnishings of the dining room
Table talk
A pleasant custom
Table manners
Suggestions for table etiquette
The table
Its appearance and appointments
The table an educator in the household
A well ordered table an incentive to good manners
Ostentation not necessary
Setting the table
The sub-cover
Napkins
The center piece
Arrangement of dishes
"Dishing up"
Setting the table over night
Warming the dishes
The service of meals
A capital idea
Fruit as the first course at breakfast
To keep the food hot
A employed
General suggestions for waiters
Suggestions concerning dinner parties
Proper form of invitation
Arrangement and adornment of table
A pleasing custom
The _menu_ card
Service for a company dinner
Etiquette of dinner parties
Table topics.
AFTER MEALTIME
Clearing the table
Washing the dishes
_papier-mache_ tubs
Ammonia, uses of
Clean dishes not evolved from dirty dishwater
Washing all dishes of one kind together
Washing milk dishes
Uses of the dish mop
Cleaning of grain boilers and mush kettles
Washing of tin dishes
To clean iron ware
To wash wooden ware
Care of steel knives and forks
Draining the dishes
Dishcloths and towels
To make a dish mop
The care of glass and silver
To keep table cutlery from rusting
To wash trays and Japanned ware
Care of the table linen
To remove stains
To dry table linen
To iron table linen
Washing colored table linen
The garbage
Table topics.
A YEAR'S BREAKFASTS AND DINNERS
A perplexing problem
Requisites for a well arranged _menu_
Suggestions for preparing bills of fare
Table of food analyses
Fifty-two weeks' breakfasts and dinners
Average cost
Analysis of various bills of fare
Table topics.
A BATCH OF DINNERS
Holiday dinners
Holiday feasting
Holiday dinners opposed to temperance
Thanksgiving _menus_
Holiday _menus_
Picnic dinners
The lunch basket, provision for
Fruit sandwiches
Egg sandwiches
Picnic biscuit
Fig wafers
Suitable beverages
School lunches
Deficiency of food material in the ordinary school lunch
Why the after dinner session of school drags wearily
Simple lunches desirable
Suggestions for putting up the lunch
Creamy rice
Neatness and daintiness essential
The lunch basket
Sabbath dinners
A needed reform
Feasting on the Sabbath, deleterious results of
Simple meals for the Sabbath
A Sabbath bill of fare
Table topics.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
THE ALIMENTARY CANAL
AN OVEN THERMOMETER
CONVENIENT KITCHEN TABLE
A DOUBLE BOILER
COMPARTMENT SINK FOR DISH-WASHING OPEN
COMPARTMENT SINK FOR DISH-WASHING CLOSED
THE STEAM COOKER
VEGETABLE PRESS
LEMON DRILL
THE HANDY WAITER
WALL CABINET
PERCOLATER HOLDER
KNEADING TABLE
DISH TOWEL RACK
VEGETABLE BRUSH
A DOUBLE BOILER
SECTIONAL VIEW OF WHEAT KERNEL
MEASURING CUPS
BREAD PAN
MEXICAN WOMEN MAKING TORTILLAS
STONE METATE
GEM IRONS
PERFORATED SHEET IRON PAN FOR ROLLS
MAKING UNFERMENTED BREAD
CANNING UTENSILS
BAIN MARIE
CHINESE SOUP STRAINER
CREAMERY
ORIENTAL BUTTER MAKING
ARRANGEMENTS FOR STRAINING STOCK
GRUEL STRAINER
EXTENSION STRAINER
WIRE DISHCLOTH
A PICNIC DINNER
INTRODUCTION.
No one thing over which we have control exerts so marked an influence
upon our physical prosperity as the food we eat; and it is no
exaggeration to say that well-selected and scientifically prepared food
renders the partaker whose digestion permits of its being well
assimilated, superior to his fellow-mortals in those qualities which
will enable him to cope most successfully with life's difficulties, and
to fulfill the purpose of existence in the best and truest manner. The
brain and other organs of the body are affected by the quality of the
blood which nourishes them, and since the blood is made of the food
eaten, it follows that the use of poor food will result in poor blood,
poor muscles, poor brains, and poor bodies, incapable of first-class
work in any capacity. Very few persons, however, ever stop to inquire
what particular foods are best adapted to the manufacture of good blood
and the maintenance of perfect health; but whatever gratifies the palate
or is most conveniently obtained, is cooked and eaten without regard to
its dietetic value. Far too many meals partake of the characteristics of
the one described in the story told of a clergyman who, when requested
to ask a blessing upon a dinner consisting of bread, hot and tinged with
saleratus, meat fried to a crisp, potatoes swimming in grease, mince
pie, preserves, and pickles, demurred on the ground that the dinner was
"not worth a blessing." He might with equal propriety have added, "and
not worth eating."
The subject of diet and its relation to human welfare, is one deserving
of the most careful consideration. It should be studied as a science, to
enable us to choose such materials as are best adapted to our needs
under the varying circumstances of climate growth, occupation, and the
numerous changing conditions of the human system; as an art, that we may
become so skilled in the preparation of the articles selected as to make
them both appetizing and healthful. It is an unfortunate fact that even
among experienced housekeepers the scientific principles which govern
the proper preparation of food, are but little understood, and much
unwholesome cookery is the result. The mechanical mixing of ingredients
is not sufficient to secure good results; and many of the failures
attributed to "poor material," "bad luck," and various other subterfuges
to which cooks ignorance of scientific principles. The common method of
blindly following recipes, with no knowledge of "the reason why," can
hardly fail to be often productive of unsatisfactory results, which to
the uninformed seem quite inexplicable.
Cookery, when based upon scientific principles, ceases to be the
difficult problem it so often appears. Cause and effect follow each
other as certainly in the preparation of food as in other things; and
with a knowledge of the underlying principles, and faithfulness in
carrying out the necessary details, failure becomes almost an
impossibility. There is no department of human activity where applied
science offers greater advantages than in that of cookery, and in our
presentation of the subjects treated in the following pages, we have
endeavored, so far as consistent with the scope of this work, to give
special prominence to the scientific principles involved in the
successful production of wholesome articles of food. We trust our
readers will find these principles so plainly elucidated and the subject
so interesting, that they will be stimulated to undertake for
themselves further study and research in this most important branch of
household science. We have aimed also to give special precedence of
space to those most important foods, the legumes, and grains and their
products, which in the majority of cook books are given but little
consideration or are even left out altogether, believing that our
readers will be more interested in learning the many palatable ways in
which these especially nutritious and inexpensive foods may be prepared,
than in a reiteration of such dishes as usually make up the bulk of the
average cook book.
For reasons stated elsewhere (in the chapter on Milk, Cream, and
Butter), we have in the preparation of all recipes made use of cream in
place of other fats; but lest there be some who may suppose because
cream occupies so frequent a place in the recipes, and because of their
inability to obtain that article, the recipes are therefore not adapted
to their use, we wish to state that a large proportion of the recipes in
which it is mentioned as seasoning, or for dressing, will be found to be
very palatable with the cream omitted, or by the use of its place of
some one of the many substitutes recommended. We ought also to mention
in this connection, that wherever cream is recommended, unless otherwise
designated, the quality used in the preparation of the recipes is that
of single or twelve hour cream sufficiently diluted with milk, so that
one fourth of each quart of milk is reckoned as cream. If a richer
quality than this be used, the quantity should be diminished in
proportion; otherwise, by the excess of fat, a wholesome food may become
a rich, unhealthful dish.
In conclusion, the author desires to state that no recipe has been
admitted to this work which has not been thoroughly tested by repeated
trials, by far the larger share of such being original, either in the
combination of the materials used, the method employed, or both
materials and method. Care has been taken not to cumber the work with
useless and indifferent recipes. It is believed that every recipe will
be found valuable, and that the variety offered is sufficiently ample,
so that under the most differing circumstances, all may be well served.
We trust therefore that those who undertake to use the work as a guide
in their culinary practice, will not consider any given recipe a failure
because success does not attend their first efforts. Perseverance and a
careful study of the directions given, will assuredly bring success to
all who possess the natural or acquired qualities essential for the
practice of that most useful of the arts,--"Healthful Cookery."
ELLA E. KELLOGG.
_Battle Creek, April 20, 1892._
Foods
The purposes of food are to promote growth, to supply force and heat,
and to furnish material to repair the waste which is constantly taking
place in the body. Every breath, every thought, every motion, wears out
some portion of the delicate and wonderful house in which we live.
Various vital processes remove these worn and useless particles; and to
keep the body in health, their loss must be made good by constantly
renewed supplies of material properly adapted to replenish the worn and
impaired tissues. This renovating material must be supplied through the
medium of food and drink, and the best food is that by which the desired
end may be most readily and perfectly attained. The great diversity in
character of the several tissues of the body, makes it necessary that
food should contain a variety of elements, in order that each part may
be properly nourished and replenished.
THE FOOD ELEMENTS.--The various elements found in food are the
following: Starch, sugar, fats, albumen, mineral substances,
indigestible substances.
The digestible food elements are often grouped, according to their
chemical composition, into three classes; _vis._, carbonaceous,
nitrogenous, and inorganic. The carbonaceous class includes starch,
sugar, and fats; the nitrogenous, all albuminous elements; and the
inorganic comprises the mineral elements.
_Starch_ is only found in vegetable foods; all grains, most vegetables,
and some fruits, contain starch in abundance. Several kinds of _sugar_
are made in nature's laboratory; _cane_, _grape_, _fruit_, and _milk_
sugar. The first is obtained from the sugar-cane, the sap of maple
trees, and from the beet root. Grape and fruit sugars are found in most
fruits and in honey. Milk sugar is one of the constituents of milk.
Glucose, an artificial sugar resembling grape sugar, is now largely
manufactured by subjecting the starch of corn or potatoes to a chemical
process; but it lacks the sweetness of natural sugars, and is by no
means a proper substitute for them. _Albumen_ is found in its purest,
uncombined state in the white of an egg, which is almost wholly composed
of albumen. It exists, combined with other food elements, in many other
foods, both animal and vegetable. It is found abundant in oatmeal, and
to some extent in the other grains, and in the juices of vegetables. All
natural foods contain elements which in many respects resemble
_albumen_, and are so closely allied to it that for convenience they are
usually classified under the general name of "albumen." The chief of
these is _gluten_, which is found in wheat, rye, and barley. _Casein_,
found in peas, beans, and milk, and the _fibrin_ of flesh, are elements
of this class.
_Fats_ are found in both animal and vegetable foods. Of animal fats,
butter and suet are common examples. In vegetable form, fat is abundant
in nuts, peas, beans, in various of the grains, and in a few fruits, as
the olive. As furnished by nature in nuts, legumes, grains, fruits, and
milk, this element is always found in a state of fine subdivision, which
condition is the one best adapted to its digestion. As most commonly
used, in the form of free fats, as butter, lard, etc., it is not only
difficult of digestion itself, but often interferes with the digestion
of the other food elements which are mixed with it. It was doubtless
never intended that fats should be so modified from their natural
condition and separated from other food elements as to be used as a
separate article of food. The same may be said of the other carbonaceous
elements, sugar and starch, neither of which, when used alone, is
capable of sustaining life, although when combined in a proper and
natural manner with other food elements, they perform a most important
part in the nutrition of the body. Most foods contain a percentage of
the _mineral_ elements. Grains and milk furnish these elements in
abundance. The cellulose, or woody tissue, of vegetables, and the bran
of wheat, are examples of _indigestible_ elements, which although they
cannot be converted into blood in tissue, serve an important purpose by
giving bulk to the food.
With the exception of gluten, none of the food elements, when used
alone, are capable of supporting life. A true food substance contains
some of all the food elements, the amount of each varying in different
foods.
USES OF THE FOOD ELEMENTS.--Concerning the purpose which these
different elements serve, it has been demonstrated by the experiments of
eminent physiologists that the carbonaceous elements, which in general
comprise the greater bulk of the food, serve three purposes in the body;
1. They furnish material for the production of heat;
2. They are a source of force when taken in connection with other food
elements;
3. They replenish the fatty tissues of the body. Of the carbonaceous
elements,--starch, sugar, and fats,--fats produce the greatest amount of
heat in proportion to quantity; that is, more heat is developed from a
pound of fat than from an equal weight of sugar or starch; but this
apparent advantage is more than counterbalanced by the fact that fats
are much more difficult of digestion than are the other carbonaceous
elements, and if relied upon to furnish adequate material for bodily
heat, would be productive of much mischief in overtaxing and producing
disease of the digestive organs. The fact that nature has made a much
more ample provision of starch and sugars than of fats in man's natural
diet, would seem to indicate that they were intended to be the chief
source of carbonaceous food; nevertheless, fats, when taken in such
proportion as nature supplies them, are necessary and important food
elements.
The nitrogenous food elements especially nourish the brain, nerves,
muscles, and all the more highly vitalized and active tissues of the
body, and also serve as a stimulus to tissue change. Hence it may be
said that a food deficient in these elements is a particularly poor
food.
The inorganic elements, chief of which are the phosphates, in the
carbonates of potash, soda, and lime, aid in furnishing the requisite
building material for bones and nerves.
PROPER COMBINATIONS OF FOODS.--While it is important that our food
should contain some of all the various food elements, experiments upon
both animals and human beings show it is necessary that these elements,
especially the nitrogenous and carbonaceous, be used in certain definite
proportions, as the system is only able to appropriate a certain amount
of each; and all excess, especially of nitrogenous elements, is not only
useless, but even injurious, since to rid the system of the surplus
imposes an additional task upon the digestive and excretory organs. The
relative proportion of these elements necessary to constitute a food
which perfectly meets the requirements of the system, is six of
carbonaceous to one of nitrogenous. Scientists have devoted much careful
study and experimentation to the determination of the quantities of each
of the food elements required for the daily nourishment of individuals
under the varying conditions of life, and it has come to be commonly
accepted that of the nitrogenous material which should constitute one
sixth of the nutrients taken, about _three ounces_ is all that can be
made use of in twenty-four hours, by a healthy adult of average weight,
doing a moderate amount of work. Many articles of food are, however,
deficient in one or the other of these elements, and need to be
supplemented by other articles containing the deficient element in
superabundance, since to employ a dietary in which any one of the
nutritive elements is lacking, although in bulk it may be all the
digestive organs can manage, is really starvation, and will in time
occasion serious results.
It is thus apparent that much care should be exercised in the selection
and combination of food materials. The table on page 484, showing the
nutritive values of various foods, should be carefully studied. Such
knowledge is of first importance in the education of cooks and
housekeepers, since to them falls the selection of the food for the
daily needs of the household; and they should not only understand what
foods are best suited to supply these needs, but how to combine them in
accordance with physiological laws.
CONDIMENTS.--By condiments are commonly meant such substances as
are added to season food, to give it "a relish" or to stimulate
appetite, but which in themselves possess no real food value. To this
category belong mustard, ginger, pepper, pepper sauce, Worcestershire
sauce, cloves, spices, and other similar substances. That anything is
needed to disguise or improve the natural flavor of food, would seem to
imply either that the article used was not a proper alimentary
substance, or that it did not answer the purpose for which the Creator
designed it. True condiments, such as pepper, pepper sauce, ginger,
spice, mustard, cinnamon, cloves, etc., are all strong irritants. This
may be readily demonstrated by their application to a raw surface. The
intense smarting and burning occasioned are ample evidence of the
irritating character. Pepper and mustard are capable of producing
powerfully irritating effects, even when applied to the healthy skin
where wholly intact. It is surprising that it does not occur to the
mother who applies a mustard plaster to the feet of her child, to
relieve congestion of the brain, that an article which is capable of
producing a blister upon the external covering of the body, is quite as
capable of producing similar effects when applied to the more sensitive
tissues within the body. The irritating effects of these substances upon
the stomach are not readily recognized, simply because the stomach is
supplied with very few nerves of sensation. That condiments induce an
intense degree of irritation of the mucous membrane of the stomach, was
abundantly demonstrated by the experiments of Dr. Beaumont upon the
unfortunate Alexis St. Martin. Dr. Beaumont records that when St. Martin
took mustard, pepper, and similar condiments with his food, the mucous
membrane of his stomach became intensely red and congested, appearing
very much like an inflamed eye. It is this irritating effect of
condiments which gives occasion for their extended use. They create an
artificial appetite, similar to the incessant craving of the chronic
dyspeptic, whose irritable stomach is seldom satisfied. This fact with
regard to condiments is a sufficient argument against their use, being
one of the greatest causes of gluttony, since they remove the sense of
satiety by which Nature says, "Enough."
To a thoroughly normal and unperverted taste, irritating condiments of
all sorts are very obnoxious. It is true that Nature accommodates
herself to their use with food to such a degree that they may be
employed for years without apparently producing very grave results; but
this very condition is a source of injury, since it is nothing more nor
less than the going to sleep of the sentinels which nature has posted at
the portal of the body, for the purpose of giving warning of danger. The
nerves of sensibility have become benumbed to such a degree that they no
longer offer remonstrance against irritating substances, and allow the
enemy to enter into the citadel of life. The mischievous work is thus
insidiously carried on year after year until by and by the individual
breaks down with some chronic disorder of the liver, kidneys, or some
other important internal organ. Physicians have long observed that in
tropical countries where curry powder and other condiments are very
extensively used, diseases of the liver, especially acute congestion and
inflammation, are exceedingly common, much more so that in countries and
among nations where condiments are less freely used. A traveler in
Mexico, some time ago, described a favorite Mexican dish as composed of
layers of the following ingredients: "Pepper, mustard, ginger, pepper,
potato, ginger; mustard, pepper, potato, mustard, ginger, pepper." The
common use of such a dish is sufficient cause for the great frequency of
diseases of the liver among the Mexicans, noted by physicians traveling
in that country. That the use of condiments is wholly a matter of habit
is evident from the fact that different nations employ as condiments
articles which would be in the highest degree obnoxious to people of
other countries. For example, the garlic so freely used in Russian
cookery, would be considered by Americans no addition to the natural
flavors of food; and still more distasteful would be the asafetida
frequently used as a seasoning in the cuisine of Persia and other
Asiatic countries.
The use of condiments is unquestionably a strong auxiliary to the
formation of a habit of using intoxicating drinks. Persons addicted to
the use of intoxicating liquors are, as a rule, fond of stimulating and
highly seasoned foods; and although the converse is not always true, yet
it is apparent to every thoughtful person, that the use of a diet
composed of highly seasoned and irritating food, institutes the
conditions necessary for the acquirement of a taste for intoxicating
liquors. The false appetite aroused by the use of food that "burns and
stings," craves something less insipid than pure cold water to keep up
the fever the food has excited. Again, condiments, like all other
stimulants, must be continually increased in quantity, or their effect
becomes diminished; and this leads directly to a demand for stronger
stimulants, both in eating and drinking, until the probable tendency is
toward the dram-shop.
A more serious reason why high seasonings leads to intemperance, is in
the perversion of the use of the sense of taste. Certain senses are
given us to add to our pleasure as well as for the practical, almost
indispensable, use they are to us. For instance, the sense of sight is
not only useful, but enables us to drink in beauty, if among beautiful
surroundings, without doing us any harm. The same of music and other
harmonics which may come to us through the sense of hearing. But the
sense of taste and was given us to distinguish between wholesome and
unwholesome foods, and cannot be used for merely sensuous gratification,
without debasing and making of it a gross thing. An education which
demands special enjoyment or pleasure through the sense of taste, is
wholly artificial; it is coming down to the animal plane, or below it
rather; for the instinct of the brute creation teaches it merely to eat
to live.
Yet how wide-spread is this habit of sensuous gratification through the
sense of taste! If one calls upon a neighbor, he is at once offered
refreshments of some kind, as though the greatest blessing of life came
from indulging the appetite. This evil is largely due to wrong
education, which begins with childhood. When Johnnie sits down to the
table, the mother says, "Johnnie, what would you like?" instead of
putting plain, wholesome food before the child, and taking it as a
matter of course that he will eat it and be satisfied. The child grows
to think that he must have what he likes, whether it is good for him or
not. It is not strange that an appetite thus pampered in childhood
becomes uncontrollable at maturity; for the step from gormandizing to
intoxication is much shorter than most people imagine. The natural,
unperverted taste of a child will lead him to eat that which is good for
him. But how can we expect the children to reform when the parents
continually set them bad examples in the matter of eating and drinking?
The cultivation of a taste for spices is a degradation of the sense of
taste. Nature never designed that pleasure should be divorced from use.
The effects of gratifying the sense of taste differ materially from
those of gratifying the higher senses of sight and hearing. What we see
is gone; nothing remains but the memory, and the same is true of the
sweetest sounds which may reach us through the ears. But what we taste
is taken into the stomach and what has thus given us brief pleasure
through the gratification of the palate, must make work in the
alimentary canal for fourteen hours before it is disposed of.
VARIETY IN FOOD.--Simplicity of diet should be a point of first
consideration with all persons upon whom falls the responsibility of
providing the family bills of fare, since the simplest foods are, as a
rule, the most healthful. Variety is needed; that is, a judicious
mingling of fruits, grains, and vegetables; but the general tendency is
to supply our tables with too many kinds and to prepare each dish in the
most elaborate manner, until, in many households, the cooking of food
has come to be almost the chief end of life. While the preparation of
food should be looked upon as of so much importance as to demand the
most careful consideration and thought as to its suitability,
wholesomeness, nutritive qualities, and digestibility, it should by no
means be made to usurp the larger share of one's time, when simpler
foods and less labor would afford the partakers equal nourishment and
strength.
A great variety of foods at one meal exerts a potent influence in
creating a love of eating, and is likewise a constant temptation to
overeat. Let us have well-cooked, nutritious, and palatable food, and
plenty of it; variety from day to day, but not too great a variety at
each meal.
The prevalent custom of loading the table with a great number of viands,
upon occasions when guests are to be entertained in our homes, is one to
be deplored, since it is neither conducive to good health nor necessary
to good cheer, but on the contrary is still laborious and expensive a
practice that many are debarred from social intercourse because they
cannot afford to entertain after the fashion of their neighbors. Upon
this subject a well-known writer has aptly said: "Simplify cookery, thus
reducing the cost of living, and how many longing individuals would
thereby be enabled to afford themselves the pleasure of culture and
social intercourse! When the barbarous practice of stuffing one's guests
shall have been abolished, a social gathering will not then imply, as it
does now, hard labor, expensive outlay, and dyspepsia. Perhaps when that
time arise, we shall be sufficiently civilized to demand pleasures of a
higher sort. True, the entertainments will then, in one sense, be more
costly, as culture is harder to come by than cake. The profusion of
viands now heaped upon the table, betrays poverty of the worst sort.
Having nothing better to offer, we offer victuals; and this we do with
something of that complacent, satisfied air with which some more
northern tribes present their tidbits of whale and walrus."
TABLE TOPICS.
"Let appetite wear reason's golden chain,
and find in due restrain its luxury."
A man's food, when he has the means and opportunity of selecting it,
suggests his moral nature. Many a Christian is trying to do by
prayer that which cannot be done except through corrected
diet.--_Talmage._
Our pious ancestors enacted a law that suicides should be buried
where four roads meet, and that a cart-load of stones should be
thrown upon the body. Yet, when gentlemen or ladies commit suicide,
not by cord or steel, but by turtle soup or lobster salad, they may
be buried on consecrated ground, and the public are not ashamed to
read an epitaph upon their tombstones false enough to make the
marble blush.--_Horace Mann._
It is related by a gentleman who had an appointment to breakfast
with the late A.T. Stewart, that the butler placed before them both
an elaborate bill of fare; the visitor selected a list of rare
dishes, and was quite abashed when Mr. Stewart said, "Bring me my
usual breakfast,--oatmeal and boiled eggs." He then explained to his
friend that he found simple food a necessity to him, otherwise he
could not think clearly. That unobscured brain applied to nobler
ends would have won higher results, but the principle remains the
same.--_Sel._
Study simplicity in the number of dishes, and a variety in the
character of the meals.--_Sel._
I have come to the conclusion that more than half the disease which
embitters life is due to avoidable errors in diet, ... and that more
mischief, in the form of actual disease, of impaired vigor, and of
shortened life, accrues to civilized man from erroneous habits of
eating than from the habitual use of alcoholic drink, considerable
as I know that evil to be.--_Sir Henry Thompson._
The ancient Gauls, who were a very brave, strong, and hearty race,
lived very abstemiously. Their food was milk, berries, and herbs.
They made bread of nuts. They had a very peculiar fashion of wearing
a metal ring around the body, the size of which was regulated by act
of Parliament. Any man who outgrew in circumference his metal ring
was looked upon as a lazy glutton, and consequently was disgraced.
To keep in health this rule is wise:
Eat only when you need, and relish food,
chew thoroughly that it may do you good,
have it well cooked, unspiced, and undisguised.
--_Leonardo da Vinci_
THE DIGESTION OF FOODS.
It is important that the housekeeper not only understand the nature and
composition of foods, but she should also know something of their
digestive properties, since food, to be serviceable, must be not only
nutritious, but easily digested. Digestion is the process by which food
rendered soluble, and capable of being absorbed for use in carrying on
the various vital processes.
The digestive apparatus consists of a long and tortuous tube called the
alimentary canal, varying in length from twenty-five to thirty feet,
along which are arranged the various digestive organs,--the mouth, the
stomach, the liver, and the pancreas,--each of which, together with the
intestines, has an important function to perform. In these various
organs nature manufactures five wonderful fluids for changing and
dissolving the several food elements. The mouth supplies the saliva; in
the walls of the stomach are little glands which produce the gastric
juice; the pancreatic juice is made by the pancreas; the liver secretes
bile; while scattered along the small intestines are minute glands
which make the intestinal juice. Each of these fluids has a particular
work to do in transforming some part of the food into suitable material
for use in the body. The saliva acts upon the starch of the food,
changing it into sugar; the gastric juice digests albumin and other
nitrogenous elements; the bile digests fat, and aids in the absorption
of other food elements after they are digested; the pancreatic juice is
not confined in its action to a single element, but digests starch,
fats, and the albuminous elements after they have been acted upon by the
gastric juice; the intestinal juice is capable of acting upon all
digestible food elements.
[Illustration: The Alimentary Canal, _a._ Esophagus; _b._ Stomach; _c._
Cardiac Orifice; _d._ Pylorus; _e._ Small Intestine; _f._ Bile Duct;
_g._ Pancreatic Duct; _h._ Ascending Colon; _i._ Transverse Colon; _j._
Descending Colon; _k._ Rectum.]
THE DIGESTION OF A MOUTHFUL OF BREAD.--A mouthful of bread
represents all, or nearly all, the elements of nutrition. Taking a
mouthful of bread as a representative of food in general, it may be said
that its digestion begins the moment that it enters the mouth, and
continues the entire length of the alimentary canal, or until the
digestible portion of the food has been completely digested and
absorbed. We quote the following brief description of the digestive
process from Dr. J.H. Kellogg's Second Book in Physiology[A]:--
[Footnote A: Good Health Pub. Co., Battle Creek, Mich.]
"_Mastication._--The first act of the digestive process is mastication,
or chewing the food, the purpose of which is to crush the food and
divide it into small particles, so that the various digestive fluids may
easily and promptly come into contact with every part of it.
"_Salivary Digestion._--During the mastication of the food, the salivary
glands are actively pouring out the saliva, which mingles with the food,
and by softening it, aids in its division and prepares it for the action
of the other digestive fluids. It also acts upon the starch, converting
a portion of it into grape-sugar.
"_Stomach Digestion._--After receiving the food, the stomach soon begins
to pour out the gastric juices, which first makes its appearance in
little drops, like beads of sweat upon the face when the perspiration
starts. As the quantity increases, the drops run together, trickle down
the side of the stomach, and mingle with the food. The muscular walls of
the stomach contract upon the food, moving it about with a sort of
crushing action, thoroughly mixing the gastric juice with the food.
During this process both the openings of the stomach are closed tightly.
The gastric juice softens the food, digests albumen, and coagulates
milk. The saliva continues its action upon starch for sometime after the
food reaches the stomach.
"After the food has remained in the stomach from one to three hours, or
even longer, if the digestion is slow, or indigestible foods have been
eaten, the contractions of the stomach become so vigorous that the more
fluid portions of the food are squeezed out through the pylorus, the
lower orifice of the stomach, thus escaping into the intestine. The
pylorus does not exercise any sort of intelligence in the selection of
food, as was once supposed. The increasing acidity of the contents of
the stomach causes its muscular walls to contract with increasing
vigor, until finally those portions of the food which may be less
perfectly broken up, but which the stomach has been unable to digest,
are forced through the pylorus.
"_Intestinal Digestion._--As it leaves the stomach, the partially
digested mass of food is intensely acid, from the large quantity of
gastric juices which it contains. Intestinal digestion cannot begin
until the food becomes alkaline. The alkaline bile neutralizes the
gastric juice, and renders the digesting mass slightly alkaline. The
bile also acts upon the fatty elements of the food, converting them into
an emulsion. The pancreatic juice converts the starch into grape-sugar,
even acting upon raw starch. It also digest fats and albumem. The
intestinal juice continues the work begun by the other digestive fluids,
and, in addition, digests cane-sugar, converting it into grape-sugar.
"_Other Uses of the Digestive Fluids._--In addition to the uses which we
have already stated, several of the digestive fluids possess other
interesting properties. The saliva aids the stomach by stimulating its
glands to make gastric juice. The gastric juice and the bile are
excellent antiseptics, by which the food is preserved from fermentation
while undergoing digestion. The bile also stimulates the movements of
the intestines by which the food is moved along, and aids absorption. It
is remarkable and interesting that a fluid so useful as the bile should
be at the same time composed of waste matters which are being removed
from the body. This is an illustration of the wonderful economy shown by
nature in her operations.
"The food is moved along the alimentary canal, from the stomach
downward, by successive contractions of the muscular walls of the
intestines, known as peristaltic movements, which occur with great
regularity during digestion.
"_Absorption_.--The absorption of the food begins as soon as any portion
has been digested. Even in the mouth and the esophagus a small amount is
absorbed. The entire mucous membrane lining the digestive canal is
furnished with a rich supply of blood-vessels, by which the greater part
of the digestive food is absorbed.
"_Liver Digestion._--The liver as well as the stomach is a digestive
organ, and in a double sense. It not only secretes a digestive fluid,
the bile, but it acts upon the food brought to it by the portal vein,
and regulates the supply of digested food to the general system. It
converts a large share of the grape-sugar and partially digested starch
brought to it into a kind of liver starch, termed glycogen, which it
stores up in its tissues. During the interval between the meals, the
liver gradually redigests the glycogen, reconverting it into sugar, and
thus supplying it to the blood in small quantities, instead of allowing
the entire amount formed in digestion to enter the circulation at once.
If too large an amount of sugar entered the system at once, it would be
unable to use it all, and would be compelled to get rid of a
considerable portion through the kidneys. The liver also completes the
digestion of albumen and other food elements."
TIME REQUIRED FOR DIGESTION.--The length of time required for
stomach digestion varies with different food substances. The following
table shows the time necessary for the stomach digestion of some of the
more commonly used foods:--
min
Rice 1 00
Sago 1 45
Tapioca 2 00
Barley 2 00
Beans, pod, boiled 2 30
Bread, wheaten 3 30
Bread, corn 3 15
Apples, sour and raw 2 00
Apples, sweet and raw 1 30
Parsnips, boiled 2 30
Beets, boiled 3 45
Potatoes, Irish, boiled 3 30
Potatoes, Irish, baked 2 30
Cabbage, raw 2 30
Cabbage, boiled 4 30
Milk, boiled 2 00
Milk, raw 2 15
Eggs, hard boiled 3 30
Eggs, soft boiled 3 00
Eggs, fried 3 30
Eggs, raw 2 00
Eggs, whipped 1 30
Salmon, salted, boiled 4 00
Oysters, raw 2 55
Oysters, stewed 3 30
Beef, lean, rare roasted 3 00
Beefsteak, boiled 3 00
Beef, lean, fried 4 00
Beef, salted, boiled 4 15
Pork, roasted 5 15
Pork, salted, fried 4 15
Mutton, roasted 3 15
Mutton, broiled 3 00
Veal, broiled 4 00
Veal, fried 4 30
Fowls, boiled 4 00
Duck, roasted 4 30
Butter, melted 3 30
Cheese 3 30
Soup, marrowbone 4 15
Soup, bean 3 00
Soup, mutton 3 30
Chicken, boiled 3 00
The time required for the digestion of food also depends upon the
condition under which the food is eaten. Healthy stomach digestion
requires at least five hours for its completion, and the stomach should
have an hour for rest before another meal. If fresh food is taken before
that which preceded it is digested, the portion of food remaining in the
stomach is likely to undergo fermentation, thus rendering the whole mass
of food unfit for the nutrition of the body, besides fostering various
disturbances of digestion. It has been shown by recent observations that
the length of time required for food to pass through the entire
digestive process to which it is subjected in the mouth, stomach, and
small intestines, is from twelve to fourteen hours.
HYGIENE OF DIGESTION.--With the stomach and other digestive organs
in a state of perfect health, one is entirely unconscious of their
existence, save when of feeling of hunger calls attention to the fact
that food is required, or satiety warns us that a sufficient amount or
too much has been eaten. Perfect digestion can only be maintained by
careful observance of the rules of health in regard to habits of eating.
On the subject of Hygiene of Digestion, we again quote a few paragraphs
from Dr. Kellogg's work on Physiology, in which is given a concise
summary of the more important points relating to this:--
"The hygiene of digestion has to do with the quality and quantity of
food eaten, in the manner of eating it.
"_Hasty Eating._--If the food is eaten too rapidly, it will not be
properly divided, and when swallowed in coarse lumps, the digestive
fluids cannot readily act upon it. On account of the insufficient
mastication, the saliva will be deficient in quantity, and, as a
consequence, the starch will not be well digested, and the stomach will
not secrete a sufficient amount of gastric juice. It is not well to eat
only soft or liquid food, as we are likely to swallow it without proper
chewing. A considerable proportion of hard food, which requires thorough
mastication, should be eaten at every meal.
"_Drinking Freely at Meals_ is harmful, as it not only encourages hasty
eating, but dilutes the gastric juice, and thus lessens its activity.
The food should be chewed until sufficiently moistened by saliva to
allow it to be swallowed. When large quantities of fluid are taken into
the stomach, digestion does not begin until a considerable portion of
the fluid has been absorbed. If cold foods or drinks are taken with the
meal, such as ice-cream, ice-water, iced milk or tea, the stomach is
chilled, and a long delay in the digestive process is occasioned.
"The Indians of Brazil carefully abstain from drinking when eating, and
the same custom prevails among many other savage tribes.
"_Eating between Meals._--The habit of eating apples, nuts, fruits,
confectionery, etc., between meals is exceedingly harmful, and certain
to produce loss of appetite and indigestion. The stomach as well as the
muscles and other organs of the body requires rest. The frequency with
which meals should be taken depends somewhat upon the age and occupation
of an individual. Infants take their food at short intervals, and owing
to its simple character, are able to digest it very quickly. Adults
should not take food oftener than three times a day; and persons whose
employment is sedentary say, in many cases at least, adopt with
advantage the plan of the ancient Greeks, who ate but twice a day. The
latter custom is quite general among the higher classes in France and
Spain, and in several South American countries.
"_Simplicity in Diet._--Taking too many kinds of food at a meal is a
common fault which is often a cause of disease of the digestive-organs.
Those nations are the most hardy and enduring whose dietary is most
simple. The Scotch peasantry live chiefly upon oatmeal, the Irish upon
potatoes, milk, and oatmeal, the Italian upon peas, beans, macaroni, and
chestnuts; yet all these are noted for remarkable health and endurance.
The natives of the Canary Islands, an exceedingly well-developed and
vigorous race, subsist almost chiefly upon a food which they call
gofio, consisting of parched grain, coarsely ground in a mortar and
mixed with water.
"_Eating when Tired._--It is not well to eat when exhausted by violent
exercise, as the system is not prepared to do the work of digestion
well. Sleeping immediately after eating is also a harmful practice. The
process of digestion cannot well be performed during sleep, and sleep is
disturbed by the ineffective efforts of the digestive organs. Hence the
well-known evil effects of late suppers.
"_Eating too Much._--Hasty eating is the greatest cause of over-eating.
When one eats too rapidly, the food is crowded into the stomach so fast
that nature has no time to cry, 'Enough,' by taking away the appetite
before too much has been eaten. When an excess of food is taken, it is
likely to ferment or sour before it can be digested. One who eats too
much usually feels dull after eating.
"_How Much Food is Enough?_--The proper quantity for each person to take
is what he is able to digest and utilize. This amount of various with
each individual, at different times. The amount needed will vary with
the amount of work done, mental or muscular; with the weather or the
season of the year, more food being required in cold than in warm
weather: with the age of an individual, very old and very young persons
requiring less food than those of middle age. An unperverted appetite,
not artificially stimulated, is a safe guide. Drowsiness, dullness, and
heaviness at the stomach are indications of an excess of eating, and
naturally suggest a lessening of the quantity of food, unless the
symptoms are known to arise from some other cause.
"_Excess of Certain Food Elements._--When sugar is too freely used,
either with food or in the form of sweetmeats or candies, indigestion,
and even more serious disease, is likely to result. Fats, when freely
used, give rise to indigestion and 'biliousness.' An excess of albumen
from the too free use of meat is harmful. Only a limited amount of this
element can be used; an excess is treated as waste matter, and must be
removed from the system by the liver and the kidneys. The majority of
persons would enjoy better health by using meat more moderately than is
customary in this country.
"_Deficiency of Certain Food Elements._--A diet deficient in any
important food element is even more detrimental to health than a diet in
which certain elements are in excess.
"The popular notion that beef-tea and meat extracts contain the
nourishing elements of meat in a concentrated form, is a dangerous
error. Undoubtedly many sick persons have been starved by being fed
exclusively upon these articles, which are almost wholly composed of
waste substances. Prof. Paule Bernard, of Paris, found that dogs fed
upon meat extracts died sooner than those which received only water."
FOOD COMBINATIONS.--Some persons, especially those of weak
digestive powers, often experience inconvenience in the use of certain
foods, owing to their improper combinations with other articles. Many
foods which are digested easily when partaken of alone or in harmonious
combinations, create much disturbance when eaten at the same meal with
several different articles of food, or with some particular article with
which they are especially incompatible. The following food combinations
are among the best, the relative excellence of each being indicated by
the order in which they are named: Milk and grains; grains and eggs;
grains and vegetables or meats; grains and fruits.
Persons with sound stomachs and vigorous digestion will seldom
experience inconvenience in making use of other and more varied
combinations, but dyspeptics and persons troubled with slow digestion
will find it to their advantage to select from the bill of fare such
articles as best accord with each other, and to avoid such combinations
as fruits and vegetables, milk and vegetables, milk and meats, sugar and
milk, meat or vegetables, fats with fruits, meats, or vegetables, or
cooked with grains.
TABLE TOPICS.
Now good digestion waits on appetite, and health on
both--_Shakespeare._
We live not upon what we eat, but upon what we digest.--_Abernethy._
If we consider the amount of ill temper, despondency, and general
unhappiness which arises from want of proper digestion and
assimilation of our food, it seems obviously well worth while to put
forth every effort, and undergo any sacrifice, for the purpose of
avoiding indigestion, with its resulting bodily ills; and yet year
after year, from the cradle to the grave, we go on violating the
plainest and simplest laws of health at the temptation of Cooks,
caterers, and confectioners, whose share in shortening the average
term of human life is probably nearly equal to that of the combined
armies and navies of the world.--_Richardson._
Almost every human malady is connected, either by highway or byway,
with the stomach.--_Sir Francis Head._
It is a well-established fact that a leg of mutton caused a
revolution in the affairs of Europe. Just before the battle of
Leipsic, Napoleon the Great insisted on dining on boiled mutton,
although his physicians warned him that it would disagree with him.
The emperor's brain resented the liberty taken with its colleague,
the stomach; the monarch's equilibrium was overturned, the battle
lost, and a new page opened in history.--_Sel._
Galloping consumption at the dinner table is one of the national
disorders.--_Sel._
The kitchen (that is, your stomach) being out of order, the garret
(the head) cannot be right, and every room in the house becomes
affected. Remedy the evil in the kitchen, and all will be right in
parlor and chamber. If you put improper food into the stomach, you
play the mischief with it, and with the whole machine
besides.--_Abernethy._
Cattle know when to go home from grazing, but a foolish man never
knows his stomachs measures.--_Scandinavian proverb._
Enough is as good as a feast.
Simplicity of diet is the characteristic of the dwellers in the
Orient. According to Niebuhr, the sheik of the desert wants only a
dish of pillau, or boiled rice, which he eats without fork or spoon.
Notwithstanding their frugal fare, these sons of the desert are
among the most hearty and enduring of all members of the human
family. A traveler tells of seeing one of them run up to the top of
the tallest pyramid and back in six minutes.
One fourth of what we eat keeps us, and the other three fourths we
keep at the peril of our lives.--_Abernethy._
COOKERY.
It is not enough that good and proper food material be provided; it must
have such preparation as will increase and not diminish its alimentary
value. The unwholesomeness of food is quite as often due to bad cookery
as to improper selection of material. Proper cookery renders good food
material more digestible. When scientifically done, cooking changes each
of the food elements, with the exception of fats, in much the same
manner as do the digestive juices, and at the same time it breaks up the
food by dissolving the soluble portions, so that its elements are more
readily acted upon by the digestive fluids. Cookery, however, often
fails to attain the desired end; and the best material is rendered
useless and unwholesome by a improper preparation.
It is rare to find a table, some portion of the food upon which is not
rendered unwholesome either by improper preparatory treatment, or by the
addition of some deleterious substance. This is doubtless due to the
fact that the preparation of food being such a commonplace matter, its
important relations to health, mind, and body have been overlooked, and
it has been regarded as a menial service which might be undertaken with
little or no preparation, and without attention to matters other than
those which relate to the pleasure of the eye and the palate. With taste
only as a criterion, it is so easy to disguise the results of careless
and improper cookery of food by the use of flavors and condiments, as
well as to palm off upon the digestive organs all sorts of inferior
material, that poor cookery has come to be the rule rather than the
exception.
Another reason for this prevalence of bad cookery, is to be found in the
fact that in so many homes the cooking is intrusted to an ignorant class
of persons having no knowledge whatever of the scientific principles
involved in this most important and practical of arts. An ethical
problem which we have been unable to solve is the fact that women who
would never think of trusting the care of their fine china and
bric-a-brac to unskilled hands, unhesitatingly intrust to persons who
are almost wholly untrained, the preparation of their daily food. There
is no department of life where superior intelligence is more needed than
in the selection and preparation of food, upon which so largely depend
the health and physical welfare of the family circle.
The evils of bad cookery and ill-selected food are manifold, so many, in
fact, that it has been calculated that they far exceed the mischief
arising from the use of strong drink; indeed, one of the evils of
unwholesome food is its decided tendency to create a craving for
intoxicants. Bad cookery causes indigestion, indigestion causes thirst,
and thirst perpetuates drunkenness. Any one who has suffered from a fit
of indigestion, and can recollect the accompanying headache and the
lowness of spirits, varying in degree from dejection or ill-humor to the
most extreme melancholy, until the intellectual faculties seemed dazed,
and the moral feelings blunted, will hardly wonder that when such a
condition becomes chronic, as is often the case from the use of
improperly prepared food, the victim is easily led to resort to
stimulants to drown depression and enliven the spirits.
A thorough practical knowledge of simple, wholesome cookery ought to
form a part of the education of every young woman, whatever her station
in life. No position in life is more responsible than that of the person
who arranges the bills of fare and selects the food for the household;
and what higher mission can one conceive than to intelligently prepare
the wherewithal to make shoulders strong to bear life's burdens and
heads clear to solve its intricate problems? what worthier work than to
help in the building up of bodies into pure temples fit for guests of
noble thoughts and high purposes? Surely, no one should undertake such
important work without a knowledge of the principles involved.
THE PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC COOKERY.
Cookery is the art of preparing food for the table by dressing, or by
the application of heat in some manner.
FUELS.--Artificial heat is commonly produced by combustion, caused
by the chemical action of the oxygen of the air upon the hydrogen and
carbon found in fuel. The different fuels in common use for cooking
purposes are hard wood, soft wood, charcoal, anthracite coal, bituminous
coal, coke, lignite, kerosene oil, gasoline, and gas. As to their
respective values, much depends upon the purpose for which they are to
be used. Wood charcoal produces a greater amount of heat than an equal
weight of any other fuel. Soft wood burns quicker and gives a more
intense heat than hard wood, and hence is best for a quick fire. Hard
wood burns slowly, produces a larger mass of coals, and is best where
long-continued heat is desired. Anthracite coal kindles slowly, and
burns with little flame or smoke, but its vapor is sulphurous, and on
that account it should never be burned in an open stove, nor in one with
an imperfect draft. Its heat is steady and intense. Bituminous coal
ignites readily, burns with considerable flame and smoke, and gives a
much less intense heat than anthracite, Lignite, or brown coal, is much
less valuable as fuel. Coke is useful when a short, quick fire is
needed. Kerosene and gas are convenient and economical fuels.
MAKING FIRES.--If coal is the fuel to be used, first clean out the
stove by shaking the grate and removing all ashes and cinders. Remove
the stove covers, and brush the soot and ashes out of all the flues and
draft holes into the fire-box. Place a large handful of shavings or
loosely twisted or crumpled papers upon the grate, over which lay some
fine pieces of dry kindling-wood, arranged crosswise to permit a free
draft, then a few sticks of hard wood, so placed as to allow plenty of
air spaces. Be sure that the wood extends out to both ends of the
fire-box. Replace the covers, and if the stove needs blacking, mix the
polish, and apply it, rubbing with a dry brush until nearly dry, then
light the fuel, as a little heat will facilitate the polishing. When the
wood is burning briskly, place a shovelful or two of rather small pieces
of coal upon the wood, and, as they ignite, gradually add more, until
there is a clear, bright body of fire, remembering, however, never to
fill the stove above the fire bricks; then partly close the direct
draft. When wood or soft coal is used, the fuel may be added at the same
time with the kindling.
CARE OF FIRES.--Much fuel is wasted through the loss of heat from
too much draft. Only just enough air should be supplied to promote
combustion. A coal fire, when well kindled, needs only air enough to
keep it burning. When the coal becomes red all through, it has parted
with the most of its heat, and the fire will soon die unless
replenished. To keep a steady fire, add but a small amount of fuel at a
time, and repeat often enough to prevent any sensible decrease of the
degree of heat. Rake the fire from the bottom, and keep it clear of
ashes and cinders. If a very hot fire is needed, open the drafts; at
other times, keep them closed, or partially so, and not waste fuel.
There is no economy in allowing a fire to get low before fuel is added;
for the fresh fuel cools the fire to a temperature so low that it is not
useful, and thus occasions a direct waste of all fuel necessary to again
raise the heat to the proper degree, to say nothing of the waste of time
and patience. The addition of small quantities of fuel at short
intervals so long as continuous heat is needed, is far better than to
let the fuel burn nearly out, and then add a larger quantity. The
improper management of the drafts and dampers has also much to do with
waste of fuel. As stoves are generally constructed, it is necessary for
the heat to pass over the top, down the back, and under the bottom of
the oven before escaping into the flue, in order to properly heat the
oven for baking. In order to force the heat to make this circuit, the
direct draft of the stove needs to be closed. With this precaution
observed, a quick fire from a small amount of fuel, used before its
force is spent, will produce better results than a fire-box full under
other circumstances.
An item of economy for those who are large users of coal, is the careful
sifting of the cinders from the ashes. They can be used to good
advantage to put first upon the kindlings, when building the fire, as
they ignite more readily than fresh coal, and give a greater, quicker
heat, although much less enduring.
METHODS OF COOKING.--A proper source of heat having been secured,
the next step is to apply it to the food in some manner. The principal
methods commonly employed are roasting, broiling, baking, boiling,
stewing, simmering, steaming, and frying.
_Roasting_ is cooking food in its own juices before an open fire. A
clear fire with intense heat is necessary.
_Broiling_, or _grilling_, is cooking by radiant heat over glowing
coals. This method is only adapted to thin pieces of food with a
considerable amount of surface. Larger and more compact foods should be
roasted or baked. Roasting and broiling are allied in principle. In
both, the work is chiefly done by the radiation of heat directly upon
the surface of the food, although some heat is communicated by the hot
air surrounding the food. The intense heat applied to the food soon
sears its outer surfaces, and thus prevents the escape of its juices. If
care be taken frequently to turn the food so that its entire surface
will be thus acted upon, the interior of the mass is cooked by its own
juices.
_Baking_ is the cooking of food by dry heat in a closed oven. Only foods
containing a considerable degree of moisture are adapted for cooking by
this method. The hot, dry air which fills the oven is always thirsting
for moisture, and will take from every moist substance to which it has
access a quantity of water proportionate to its degree of heat. Foods
containing but a small amount of moisture, unless protected in some
manner from the action of the heated air, or in some way supplied with
moisture during the cooking process, come from the oven dry, hard, and
unpalatable.
Proper cooking by this method depends greatly upon the facility with
which the heat of the oven can be regulated. When oil or gas is the fuel
used, it is an easy matter to secure and maintain almost any degree of
heat desirable, but with a wood or coal stove, especial care and
painstaking are necessary.
It is of the first importance that the mechanism of the oven to be used,
be thoroughly understood by the cook, and she should test its heating
capacity under various conditions, with a light, quick fire and with a
more steady one; she should carefully note the kind and amount of fuel
requisite to produce a certain degree of heat; in short, she should
thoroughly know her "machine" and its capabilities before attempting to
use it for the cooking of food. An oven thermometer is of the utmost
value for testing the heat, but unfortunately, such thermometers are not
common. They are obtainable in England, although quite expensive. It is
also possible at the present time to obtain ranges with a very reliable
thermometer attachment to the oven door.
[Illustration: An Oven Thermometer]
A cook of good judgment by careful observation and comparison of
results, can soon learn to form quite a correct idea of the heat of her
oven by the length of time she can hold her hand inside it without
discomfort, but since much depends upon the construction of stoves and
the kind of fuel used, and since the degree of heat bearable will vary
with every hand that tries it, each person who depends upon this test
must make her own standard. When the heat of the oven is found to be too
great, it may be lessened by placing in it a dish of cold water.
_Boiling_ is the cooking of food in a boiling liquid. Water is the usual
medium employed for this purpose. When water is heated, as its
temperature is increased, minute bubbles of air which have been
dissolved by it are given off. As the temperature rises, bubbles of
steam will begin to form at the bottom of the vessel. At first these
will be condensed as they rise into the cooler water above, causing a
simmering sound; but as the heat increases, the bubbles will rise higher
and higher before collapsing, and in a short time will pass entirely
through the water, escaping from its surface, causing more or less
agitation, according to the rapidity with which they are formed. Water
boils when the bubbles thus rise to the surface, and steam is thrown
off. If the temperature is now tested, it will be found to be about
212 deg. F. When water begins to boil, it is impossible to increase its
temperature, as the steam carries off the heat as rapidly as it is
communicated to the water. The only way in which the temperature can be
raised, is by the confinement of the steam; but owing to its enormous
expansive force, this is not practicable with ordinary cooking utensils.
The mechanical action of the water is increased by rapid bubbling, but
not the heat; and to boil anything violently does not expedite the
cooking process, save that by the mechanical action of the water the
food is broken into smaller pieces, which are for this reason more
readily softened. But violent boiling occasions an enormous waste of
fuel, and by driving away in the steam the volatile and savory elements
of the food, renders it much less palatable, if not altogether
tasteless. The solvent properties of water are so increased by heat that
it permeates the food, rendering its hard and tough constituents soft
and easy of digestion.
The liquids mostly employed in the cooking of foods are water and milk.
Water is best suited for the cooking of most foods, but for such
farinaceous foods as rice, macaroni, and farina, milk, or at least part
milk, is preferable, as it adds to their nutritive value. In using milk
for cooking purposes, it should be remembered that being more dense than
water, when heated, less steam escapes, and consequently it boils sooner
than does water. Then, too, milk being more dense, when it is used alone
for cooking, a little larger quantity of fluid will be required than
when water is used.
The boiling point for water at the sea level is 212 deg. At all points
above the sea level, water boils at a temperature below 212 deg., the exact
temperature depending upon the altitude. At the top of Mt. Blanc, an
altitude of 15,000 feet, water boils at 185 deg. The boiling point is
lowered one degree for every 600 feet increase in altitude. The boiling
point may be increased by adding soluble substances to the water. A
saturated solution of common baking soda boils at 220 deg. A saturated
solution of chloride of sodium boils at 227 deg. A similar solution of
sal-ammoniac boils at 238 deg. Of course such solutions cannot be used
advantageously, except as a means of cooking articles placed in
hermetically sealed vessels and immersed in the liquid.
Different effects upon food are produced by the use of hard and soft
water. Peas and beans boiled in hard water containing lime or gypsum,
will not become tender, because these chemical substances harden
vegetable casein, of which element peas and beans are largely composed.
For extracting the juices of meat and the soluble parts of other foods,
soft water is best, as it more readily penetrates the tissue; but when
it is desired to preserve the articles whole, and retain their juices
and flavors, hard water is preferable.
Foods should be put to cook in cold or boiling water, in accordance with
the object to be attained in their cooking. Foods from which it is
desirable to extract the nutrient properties, as for broths, extracts,
etc., should be put to cook in cold water. Foods to be kept intact as
nearly as may be, should be put to cook in boiling water.
Hot and cold water act differently upon the different food elements.
Starch is but slightly acted upon by cold water. When starch is added
to several times its bulk of hot water, all the starch granules burst on
approaching the boiling point, and swell to such a degree as to occupy
nearly the whole volume of the water, forming a pasty mess. Sugar is
dissolved readily in the either hot or cold water. Cold water extracts
albumen. Hot water coagulates it.
_Steaming_, as its name implies, is the cooking of food by the use of
steam. There are several ways of steaming, the most common of which is
by placing the food in a perforated dish over a vessel of boiling water.
For foods not needing the solvent powers of water, or which already
contain a large amount of moisture, this method is preferable to
boiling. Another form of cooking, which is usually termed steaming, is
that of placing the food, with or without water, as needed, in a closed
vessel which is placed inside another vessel containing boiling water.
Such an apparatus is termed a double boiler. Food cooked in its own
juices in a covered dish in a hot oven, is sometimes spoken of as being
_steamed_ or _smothered_.
_Stewing_ is the prolonged cooking of food in a small quantity of
liquid, the temperature of which is just below the boiling point.
Stewing should not be confounded with simmering, which is slow, steady
boiling. The proper temperature for stewing is most easily secured by
the use of the double boiler. The water in the outer vessel boils, while
that in the inner vessel does not, being kept a little below the
temperature of the water from which its heat is obtained, by the
constant evaporation at a temperature a little below the boiling point.
_Frying_, which is the cooking of food in hot fat, is a method not to be
recommended--Unlike all the other food elements, fat is rendered less
digestible by cooking. Doubtless it is for this reason that nature has
provided those foods which require the most prolonged cooking to fit
them for use with only a small proportion of fat, and it would seem to
indicate that any food to be subjected to a high degree of heat should
not be mixed and compounded largely of fats. The ordinary way of frying,
which the French call _sauteing_, is by the use of only a little fat in
a shallow pan, into which the food is put and cooked first on one side
and then the other. Scarcely anything could be more unwholesome than
food prepared in this manner. A morsel of food encrusted with fat
remains undigested in the stomach because fat is not acted upon by the
gastric juice, and its combination with the other food elements of which
the morsel is composed interferes with their digestion also. If such
foods are habitually used, digestion soon becomes slow and the gastric
juice so deficient in quantity that fermentation and putrefactive
changes are occasioned, resulting in serious disturbance of health. In
the process of frying, the action of the heat partially decomposes the
fat; in consequence, various poisonous substances are formed, highly
detrimental to the digestion of the partaker of the food.
ADDING FOODS TO BOILING LIQUIDS.--Much of the soddenness of
improperly cooked foods might be avoided, if the following facts were
kept in mind:--
When vegetables, or other foods of ordinary temperature, are put into
boiling water, the temperature of the water is lowered in proportion to
the quantity and the temperature of the food thus introduced, and will
not again boil until the mass of food shall have absorbed more heat from
the fire. The result of this is that the food is apt to become more or
less water-soaked before the process of cooking begins. This difficulty
may be avoided by introducing but small quantities of the food at one
time, so as not to greatly lower the temperature of the liquid, and then
allowing the latter to boil between the introduction of each fresh
supply, or by heating the food before adding it to the liquid.
EVAPORATION is another principle often overlooked in the cooking of
food, and many a sauce or gravy is spoiled because the liquid, heated in
a shallow pan, from which evaporation is rapid, loses so much in bulk
that the amount of thickening requisite for the given quantity of fluid,
and which, had less evaporation occurred, would have made it of the
proper consistency, makes the sauce thick and unpalatable. Evaporation
is much less, in slow boiling, than in more rapid cooking.
MEASURING.--One of the most important principles to be observed in
the preparation of food for cooking, is accuracy in measuring. Many an
excellent recipe proves a failure simply from lack of care in this
respect. Measures are generally more convenient than weights, and are
more commonly used. The common kitchen cup, which holds a half pint, is
the one usually taken as the standard; if any other size is used, the
ingredients for the entire recipe should be measured by the same. The
following points should be observed in measuring:--
1. The teaspoons and tablespoons to be used in measuring, are the silver
spoons in general use.
2. Any material like flour, sugar, salt, that has been packed, should
either be sifted or stirred up lightly before measuring.
3. A cupful of dry material is measured level with the top of the cup,
without being packed down.
4. A cupful of liquid is all the cup will contain without running over.
Hold the cup in a saucer while measuring, to prevent spilling the liquid
upon the floor or table.
COMPARATIVE TABLE OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.--The following
comparative table of weights and measurements will aid in estimating
different materials:--
One heaping tablespoonful of sugar weighs one ounce.
Two round tablespoonfuls of flour weigh one ounce.
Two cupfuls of granulated sugar weigh one pound.
Two cupfuls of meal weigh one pound.
Four cupfuls of sifted flour weigh one pound.
One pint of oatmeal, cracked wheat, or other coarse grains, weighs about
one pound.
One pint of liquid weighs one pound.
One pint of meat chopped and packed solid weighs one pound.
Seven heaping tablespoonfuls of sugar = one cupful.
Five heaping tablespoonfuls of flour = one cupful.
Two cupfuls of liquid or dry material = one pint
Four cupfuls of liquid or dry material = one quart.
MIXING MATERIALS.--In the compounding of recipes, various modes are
employed for mingling together the different ingredients, chief of which
are _stirring_, _beating_, and _kneading_.
By _stirring_ is meant a continuous motion round and round with a spoon,
without lifting it from the mixture, except to scrape occasionally from
the sides of the dish any portion of the material that may cling to it.
It is not necessary that the stirring should be all in one direction, as
many cooks suppose. The object of the stirring is to thoroughly blend
the ingredients, and this may be accomplished as well by stirring--in
one direction as in another.
_Beating_ is for the purpose of incorporating as much air in the mixture
as possible. It should be done by dipping the spoon in and out, cutting
clear through and lifting from the bottom with each stroke. The process
must be continuous, and must never be interspersed with any stirring if
it is desired to retain the air within the mixture.
_Kneading_ is the mode by which materials already in the form of dough
are more thoroughly blended together; it also serves to incorporate air.
The process is more fully described in the chapter on "Bread,"
TEMPERATURE.--Many a cook fails and knows not why, because she does
not understand the influence of temperature upon materials and food.
Flour and liquids for unfermented breads cannot be too cold, while for
bread prepared with yeast, success is largely dependent upon a warm and
equable temperature throughout the entire process.
COOKING UTENSILS.--The earliest cookery was probably accomplished
without the aid of any utensils, the food being roasted by burying it in
hot ashes or cooked by the aid of heated stones; but modern cookery
necessitates the use of a greater or less variety of cooking utensils to
facilitate the preparation of food, most of which are so familiar to the
reader as to need no description. (A list of those needed for use will
be found on page 66.) Most of these utensils are manufactured from some
kind of metal, as iron, tin, copper, brass, etc. All metals are
dissolvable in certain substances, and some of those employed for making
household utensils are capable of forming most poisonous compounds when
used for cooking certain foods. This fact should lead to great care on
the part of the housewife, both in purchasing and in using utensils for
cooking purposes.
Iron utensils, although they are, when new, apt to discolor and impart
a disagreeable flavor to food cooked in them, are not objectionable from
a health standpoint, if kept clean and free from rust. Iron rust is the
result of the combination of the iron with oxygen, for which it has so
great an affinity that it will decompose water to get oxygen to unite
with; hence it is that iron utensils rust so quickly when not carefully
dried after using, or if left where they can collect moisture. This is
the reason why a coating of tallow, which serves to exclude the air and
moisture, will preserve ironware not in daily use from rusting.
"Porcelain ware" is iron lined with a hard, smooth enamel, and makes
safe and very desirable cooking utensils. German porcelain ware is
unexcelled for culinary purposes.
"Granite ware" is a material quite recently come into use, the
composition of which is a secret, although pronounced by eminent
chemists to be free from all injurious qualities. Utensils made from it
are light in weight, easily kept clean, and for most cooking purposes,
are far superior to those made from any other material.
What is termed "galvanized iron" is unsuitable for cooking utensils, it
being simply sheet iron coated with zinc, an exceedingly unsafe metal to
be used for cooking purposes.
Tin, which is simply thin sheet iron coated with tin by dipping several
times into vats of the melted metal, is largely employed in the
manufacture of cooking utensils. Tinware is acted upon by acids, and
when used for holding or cooking any acid foods, like sour milk, sour
fruits, tomatoes, etc., harmful substances are liable to be formed,
varying in quantity and harmfulness with the nature of the acid
contained in the food.
In these days of fraud and adulteration, nearly all the cheaper grades
of tinware contain a greater or less amount of lead in their
composition, which owing to its greater abundance and less price, is
used as an adulterant of tin. Lead is also used in the solder with which
the parts of tinware are united. The action of acids upon lead form very
poisonous compounds, and all lead-adulterated utensils should be wholly
discarded for cooking purposes.
_Test for Lead-Adulterated Tin._--Place upon the metal a small drop of
nitric acid, spreading it to the size of a dime, dry with gentle heat,
apply a drop of water, then add a small crystal of iodide of potash. If
lead is present, a yellowish color will be seen very soon after the
addition of the iodide. Lead glazing, which is frequently employed on
crockery and ironware in the manufacture of cooking utensils, may also
be detected in the same manner.
Cooking utensils made of copper are not to be recommended from the point
of healthfulness, although many cooks esteem them because copper is a
better conductor of heat than iron or tin. The acids of many fruits
combine with copper to form extremely poisonous substances. Fatty
substances, as well as salt and sugar, act upon copper to a greater or
less degree, also vegetables containing sulfur in their composition and
produce harmful compounds.
Utensils made of brass, which is a compound of copper and zinc, are not
safe to use for cooking purposes.
TABLE TOPICS.
Bad cooking diminishes happiness and shortens life.--_Wisdom of
Ages._
Says Mrs. Partington: "Many a fair home has been desiccated by poor
cooking, and a man's table has been the rock on which his happiness
has split."
SIGNIFICANT FACT.--_Lady_--"Have you had much experience as a cook?"
_Applicant_--"Oh, indeed I have. I was the cook of Mr. and Mrs.
Peterby for three years."
_L._--"Why did you leave them?"
_A._--"I didn't leave them. They left me. They both died."
_L._--"What of?"
_A._--"Dyspepsia."
Cooking is generally bad because people falling to routine; habit
dulls their appreciation, and they do not think about what they are
eating.--_Didsbury._
_Lilly_ (Secretary of the cooking class)--"Now girls, we've learned
nine cakes, two kinds of angel food, and seven pies. What next?"
_Susie_ (engaged)--"Dick's father says I must learn to bake bread."
_Indignant chorus_--"Bread? How absurd! What are bakers for?"
It is told of Philip Hecgnet, a French, physician who lived in the
17th, century, that when calling upon his wealthy patients, he used
often to go to the kitchen and pantry, embrace the cooks and
butlers, and exhort them to do their duty well. "I owe you so much
gratitude, my dear friends," he would say; "you are so useful to us
doctors; for if you did not keep on poisoning the people, we should
all have to go to the poorhouse."
There are innumerable books of recipes for cooking, but unless the
cook is master of the principles of his art, and unless he knows the
why and the wherefore of its processes, he cannot choose a recipe
intelligently and execute it successfully.--_Richard Estcourt._
They who provide the food for the world, decide the health of the
world. You have only to go on some errands amid the taverns and
hotels of the United States and Great Britain, to appreciate the
fact that a vast multitude of the human race are slaughtered by
incompetent cookery. Though a young woman may have taken lessons in
music, and may have taken lessons in painting, and lessons in
astronomy, she is not well educated unless she has taken lessons in
dough!--_Talmage._
HOUSEHOLD WORKSHOP
It is a mistake to suppose that any room, however small and unpleasantly
situated, is "good enough" for a kitchen. This is the room where
housekeepers pass a great portion of their time, and it should be one of
the brightest and most convenient rooms in the house; for upon the
results of no other department of woman's domain depend so greatly the
health and comfort of the family as upon those involved in this
"household workshop." The character of a person's work is more or less
dependent upon his surroundings, hence is it to be greatly wondered at
that a woman immured in a small, close, dimly-lighted room, whose only
outlook may be the back alley or the woodshed, supplies her household
with products far below the standard of health and housewifely skill?
Every kitchen should have windows on two sides of the room, and the sun
should have free entrance through them; the windows should open from the
top to allow a complete change of air, for light and fresh air are among
the chief essentials to success in all departments of the household.
Good drainage should also be provided, and the ventilation of the
kitchen ought to be even more carefully attended to than that of a
sleeping room. The ventilation of the kitchen should be so ample as to
thoroughly remove all gases and odors, which, together with steam from
boiling and other cooking processes, generally invade and render to some
degree unhealthful every other portion of the house. It is the steam
from the kitchen which gives a fusty odor to the parlor air and provides
a wet-sheet pack for the occupant of the "spare bed." The only way of
wholly eradicating this evil, is the adoption of the suggestion of the
sanitary philosopher who places the kitchen at the top of the house.
To lessen to discomforts from heat, a ventilator may be placed above the
range, that shall carry out of the room all superfluous heat, and aid in
removing the steam and odors from cooking food. The simplest form of
such a ventilator this inverted hopper of sheet iron fitted above the
range, the upper and smaller end opening into a large flue adjacent to
the smoke flue for the range. Care must be taken, however, to provide an
ample ventilating shaft for this purpose, since a strong draft is
required to secure the desired results.
There should be ample space for tables, chairs, range, sink, and
cupboards, yet the room should not be so large as to necessitate too
many steps. A very good size for the ordinary dwelling is 16 x 18 feet.
Undoubtedly much of the distaste for, and neglect of, "housework," so
often deplored in these days, arises from unpleasant surroundings. If
the kitchen be light, airy, and tidy, and the utensils bright and clean,
the work of compounding those articles of food which grace the table and
satisfy the appetite will be a pleasant task, and one entirely worthy of
the most intelligent and cultivated woman.
It is desirable, from a sanitary standpoint, that the kitchen floor be
made impervious to moisture; hence, concrete or tile floors are better
than wooden floors. If wooden floors are used, they should be
constructed of narrow boards of hard wood, carefully joined and
thoroughly saturated with hot linseed oil, well rubbed in to give polish
to the surface.
Cleanliness is the great _desideratum_, and this can be best attained
by having all woodwork in and about the kitchen coated with varnish;
substances which cause stain and grease spots, do not penetrate the wood
when varnished, and can be easily removed with a damp cloth. Paint is
preferable to whitewash or calcimine for the walls, since it is less
affected by steam, and can be more readily cleaned. A carpet on a
kitchen floor is as out of place as a kitchen sink would be in a parlor.
The elements of beauty should not be lacking in the kitchen. Pictures
and fancy articles are inappropriate; but a few pots of easily
cultivated flowers on the window ledge or arranged upon brackets about
the window in winter, and a window box arranged as a jardiniere, with
vines and blooming plants in summer, will greatly brighten the room, and
thus serve to lighten the task of those whose daily labor confines them
to the precincts of the kitchen.
THE KITCHEN FURNITURE.--The furniture for a kitchen should not be
cumbersome, and should be so made and dressed as to be easily cleaned.
There should be plenty of cupboards, and each for the sake of order,
should be devoted to a special purpose. Cupboards with sliding doors are
much superior to closets. They should be placed upon casters so as to be
easily moved, as they, are thus not only more convenient, but admit of
more thorough cleanliness.
Cupboards used for the storage of food should be well ventilated;
otherwise, they furnish choice conditions for the development of mold
and germs. Movable cupboards may be ventilated by means of openings in
the top, and doors covered with very fine wire gauze which will admit
the air but keep out flies and dust. All stationary cupboards and
closets should have a ventilating flue connected with the main shaft by
which the house is ventilated, or directly communicating with the outer
air.
No kitchen can be regarded as well furnished without a good timepiece as
an aid to punctuality and economy of time. An eight-day clock with large
dial and plain case is the most suitable.
Every kitchen should also be provided with a slate, with sponge and
pencil attached, on one side of which the market orders and other
memoranda may be jotted down, and on the other the bills of fare for the
day or week. In households where servants are kept, the slate will save
many a vexatious blunder and unnecessary call to the kitchen, while if
one is herself mistress, cook, and housekeeper, it may prove an
invaluable aid and time-saver if thus used.
[Illustration: A Convenient Kitchen Table.]
Lack of sufficient table room is often a great source of inconvenience
to the housekeeper. To avoid this, arrange swinging tables or shelves at
convenient points upon the wall, which may be put up or let down as
occasion demands. For ordinary kitchen uses, small tables of suitable
height on easy-rolling casters, and with zinc tops, are the most
convenient and most easily kept clean. It is quite as well that they be
made without drawers, which are too apt to become receptacles for a
heterogeneous mass of rubbish. If desirable to have some handy place for
keeping articles which are frequently required for use, an arrangement
similar to that represented in the accompanying cut may be made at very
small expense. It may be also an advantage to arrange small shelves
about and above the range, on which may be kept various articles
necessary for cooking purposes.
One of the most indispensable articles of furnishing for a
well-appointed kitchen, is a sink; however, a sink must be properly
constructed and well cared for, or it is likely to become a source of
great danger to the health of the inmates of the household. Earthen-ware
is the best material for kitchen sinks. Iron is very serviceable, but
corrodes, and if painted or enameled, this soon wears off. Wood is
objectionable from a sanitary standpoint. A sink made of wood lined with
copper answers well for a long time if properly cared for.
The sink should if possible stand out from the wall, so as to allow free
access to all sides of it for the sake of cleanliness, and under no
circumstances should there be any inclosure of woodwork or cupboards
underneath to serve as a storage place for pots and kettles and all
kinds of rubbish, dust, and germs. It should be supported on legs, and
the space below should be open for inspection at all times. The pipes
and fixtures should be selected and placed by a competent plumber.
Great pains should be taken to keep the pipes clean and well
disinfected. Refuse of all kinds should be kept out. Thoughtless
housekeepers and careless domestics often allow greasy water and bits of
table waste to find their way into the pipes. Drain pipes usually have a
bend, or trap, through which water containing no sediment flows freely;
but the melted grease which often passes into the pipes mixed with hot
water, becomes cooled and solid as it descends, adhering to the pipes,
and gradually accumulating until the drain is blocked, or the water
passes through very slowly. A grease-lined pipe is a hotbed for disease
germs.
Water containing much grease should be cooled and the grease removed
before being turned into the kitchen sink, while bits of refuse should
be disposed of elsewhere, since prevention of mischief is in this case,
as in most others, far easier than cure. It is customary for
housekeepers to pour a hot solution of soda or potash down the sink
pipes occasionally, to dissolve any grease which may tend to obstruct
the passage; but this is only a partial safeguard, as there is no
certainty that all the grease will be dissolved, and any particles
adhering to the pipes very soon undergo putrefaction.
A frequent flushing with hot water is important; besides which the pipes
should be disinfected two or three times a week by pouring down a gallon
of water holding in solution a pound of good chloride of lime.
STOVES AND RANGES.--The furnishing of a modern kitchen would be
quite incomplete without some form of stove or range. The multiplicity
of these articles, manufactured each with some especial merit of its
own, renders it a somewhat difficult task to make a choice among them.
Much must, however, depend upon the kind of fuel to be used, the size of
the household, and various other circumstances which make it necessary
for each individual housekeeper to decide for herself what is best
adapted to her wants. It may be said, in brief, that economy of fuel,
simplicity of construction, and efficiency in use are the chief points
to be considered in the selection of stoves and ranges.
A stove or range of plain finish is to be preferred, because it is much
easier to keep clean, and will be likely to present a better appearance
after a few months' wear than one of more elaborate pattern. But
whatever stove or range is selected, its mechanism should be thoroughly
understood in every particular, and it should be tested with dampers
open, with dampers closed, and in every possible way, until one is
perfectly sure she understands its action under all conditions.
OIL AND GAS STOVES.--In many households, oil, gas, and gasoline
stoves have largely taken the place of the kitchen range, especially
during the hot weather of summer. They can be used for nearly every
purpose for which a wood or a coal range is used; they require much less
labor and litter, and can be instantly started into full force and as
quickly turned out when no longer required, while the fact that the heat
can be regulated with exactness, makes them superior for certain
processes of cooking to any other stove. But while these stoves are
convenient and economical, especially in small families, they should be
used with much care. Aside from the danger from explosion, which is by
no means inconsiderable in the use of gasoline and oil stoves, they are
not, unless well cared for altogether healthful. Unless the precaution
is taken to use them in well-ventilated rooms or to connect them with a
chimney, they vitiate the atmosphere to a considerable extent with the
products of combustion. Oil stoves, unless the wicks are kept well
trimmed, are apt to smoke, and this smoke is not only disagreeable, but
extremely irritating to the mucous membrane of the nose and throat. Oil
stoves are constructed on the same principle as ordinary oil lamps, and
require the same care and attention.
Quite recently there has been invented by Prof. Edward Atkinson a very
unique apparatus for cooking by means of the heat of an ordinary
kerosene lamp, called the "Aladdin Cooker." The food to be cooked is
placed in a chamber around which hot water, heated by the flame of the
lamp, circulates. The uniform heat thus obtained performs the process of
cooking, slowly, but most satisfactorily and economically, the result
being far superior to that obtained by the ordinary method of cooking by
quick heat. The cooker is only used for stewing and steaming; but Mr.
Atkinson has also invented an oven in which the heat is conveyed to the
place where it is needed by a column of hot air instead of hot water.
With this oven, which consists of an outer oven made of non-conducting
material, and an inner oven made of sheet iron, with an intervening
space between, through which the hot air circulates, no smoke or odor
from the lamp can reach the interior.
KITCHEN. UTENSILS.--The list of necessary kitchen utensils must of
course be governed somewhat by individual circumstances, but it should
not be curtailed for the sake of display in some other department, where
less depends upon the results. A good kitchen outfit is one of the
foundation-stones of good housekeeping. The following are some of the
most essential:--
Two dish pans; two or more _papier-mache_ tubs for washing glassware;
one kneading board; one bread board; one pair scales, with weights;
scrubbing and stove brushes; brooms; dustpans; roller for towel;
washbowl; soap dish; vegetable brushes.
[Illustration: A Double Boiler.]
FOR THE TIN CLOSET.-One dipper; one egg-beater; one two-quart pail;
one four-quart pail; six brick-loaf bread pans; three shallow tins;
three granite-ware pie tins; two perforated sheet iron pans for rolls,
etc.; one set of measures, pint, quart, and two quart; two colanders;
two fine wire strainers; one flour sifter; one apple corer; one set
patty pans; two dripping pans; two sets gem irons; one set muffin rings;
one toaster; one broiler; the six saucepans, different sizes; two
steamers; six milk-pans; one dozen basins, different sizes; one chopping
bowl and knife; six double boilers; two funnels, large and small; one
can opener; griddle; kettles, iron and granite ware; two water baths.
FOR THE DISH CLOSET.--One half dozen iron-stone china cups; three
quart bowls; three pint bowls; two large mixing bowls; two quart bowls
with lip; six deep plates; three kitchen pitchers; one glass rolling
pin; six wooden and six iron spoons, assorted sizes; six kitchen
teaspoons; one stone baking pot; glass jars for stores; crocks and jars.
THE PANTRY.--The pantry and china closet should have direct light
and good ventilation. The dark, dingy places sometimes used for this
purpose are germ breeders. There should be plenty of shelf room and
cupboards for the fine glass and china-ware, with a well-arranged sink
for washing the dishes. The sink for this purpose is preferably one
lined with tinned or planished copper; for dishes will be less liable to
become injured and broken then when washed in an iron or earthen-ware
sink. Extension or folding shelves are a great convenience, and can be
arranged for the sink if desired. The accompanying cuts illustrate a
sink of four compartments for dish-washing, devised by the writer for
use in the Sanitarium Domestic Economy kitchen, which can be closed and
used as a table. Two zinc trays fit the top, upon which to place the
dish drainers. If preferred, the top might be arranged as a drainer, by
making it of well-seasoned hard wood, with a number of inclined grooves
to allow the water to run into the sink. If the house be heated by
steam, a plate-warmer is an important part of the pantry furnishing.
[Illustration: Compartment Sink for Dish-Washing. Open.]
THE STOREROOM.--If possible to do so, locate the room for the
keeping of the kitchen supplies on the cool side of the house. Plenty of
light, good ventilation, and absolute cleanliness are essential, as the
slightest contamination of air is likely to render the food supply unfit
for use.
The refrigerator should not be connected with the kitchen drain pipe,
and the greatest care should be taken to keep it clean and sweet. It
should be thoroughly scrubbed with borax or sal-soda and water, and well
aired, at least once a week. Strongly flavored foods and milk should not
be kept in the same refrigerator. The ice to be used should always be
carefully washed before putting in the refrigerator. Care should also be
taken to replenish it before the previous supply is entirely melted, as
the temperature rises when the ice becomes low, and double the quantity
will be required to cool the refrigerator that would be necessary to
keep it of uniform temperature if added before the ice was entirely out.
THE WATER SUPPLY.--The water used for drinking and cooking purposes
should receive equal consideration with the food supply, and from
whatever source obtained, it should be frequently tested for impurities,
since that which looks the most refreshing may be contaminated with
organic poison of the most treacherous character.
[Illustration: Compartment Sink for Dish-Washing. Closed.]
A good and simple test solution, which any housewife can use, may be
prepared by dissolving twelve grains of caustic potash and three of
permanganate of potash in an ounce of distilled water, or filtered soft
water. Add a drop of this solution to a glass of the water to be tested.
If the pink color imparted by the solution disappears at once, add
another drop of the solution, and continue adding drop by drop until the
pink color will remain for half an hour or more. The amount of the
solution necessary to security permanent color is very fair index to the
quality of the water. If the color imparted by the first one or two
drops disappears within a half hour, the water should be rejected as
probably dangerous. Water which is suspected of being impure may be
rendered safe by boiling. Filters are only of service in removing
suspended particles and the unpleasant taste of rain water; a really
dangerous water is not rendered safe by filtering in the ordinary
manner.
CELLARS.--Sanitarians tell us that cellars should never be built
under dwelling houses. Because of improper construction and neglect,
they are undoubtedly the cause of much disease and many deaths. A
basement beneath the house is advantageous, but the greatest of care
should be given to construct it in accord with sanitary laws. It should
be thoroughly drained that there may be no source of dampness, but
should not be connected with a sewer or a cesspool. It should have walls
so made as to be impervious to air and water. An ordinary brick or stone
wall is inefficient unless well covered with good Portland cement
polished smooth. The floors should likewise be covered with cement,
otherwise the cellar is likely to be filled with impure air derived from
the soil, commonly spoken of as "ground air," and which offers a
constant menace to the health of those who live over cellars with
uncemented walls and floors.
Light and ventilation are quite as essential to the healthfulness of a
cellar as to other rooms of the dwelling. Constantly during warm
weather, and at least once a day during the winter season, windows
should be opened wide, thus effecting a free interchange of air. All
mold and mustiness should be kept out by thorough ventilation and
frequent coats of whitewash to the walls. Vegetables and other
decomposable articles, if stored in the basement, should be frequently
sorted, and all decaying substances promptly removed. This is of the
utmost importance, since the germs and foul gases arising from
decomposing food stuffs form a deadly source of contamination through
every crack and crevice.
KITCHEN CONVENIENCES.
In these days of invention and progress, much thought and ingenuity have
been expended in making and perfecting labor-saving articles and
utensils, which serve to make housework less of a burden and more of a
delight.
THE STEAM-COOKER.--One of the most unique of these conveniences is
the steam-cooker, one kind of which is illustrated by the accompanying
cut. Steaming is, for many foods, a most economical and satisfactory
method of cooking. Especially is this true respecting fruits, grains,
and vegetables, the latter of which often have the larger proportion of
their best nutritive elements dissolved and thrown away in the water in
which they are boiled. In the majority of households it is, however, the
method least depended upon, because the ordinary steamer over a pot of
boiling water requires too much attention, takes up too much stove room,
and creates too much steam in the kitchen, to prove a general favorite.
The steam-cooker has an escape-steam tube through which all excess of
steam and odors passes into the fire, and thus its different
compartments may contain and cook an entire dinner, if need be, and over
one stove hole or one burner of an oil or gasoline stove.
[Illustration: The Steam-Cooker.]
THE VEGETABLE PRESS.--The accompanying cut represents this handy
utensil, which is equally useful as a potato and vegetable masher; as a
sauce, gruel, and gravy strainer; as a fruit press, and for many other
purposes for which a colander or strainer is needed, while it economizes
both time and labor.
[Illustration: Vegetable Press.]
LEMON DRILL.--This little article for extracting the juice of the
lemon, and which can be purchased of most hardware dealers, is quite
superior to the more commonly used lemon squeezer. Being made of glass,
its use is not open to the danger that the use of metal squeezer is are
from poisonous combinations of the acid and metal, while the juice
extracted is free from pulp, seeds, and the oil of the skin.
[Illustration: Lemon Drill.]
A HANDY WAITER.--In many households where no help is employed, a
labor-saving device like the one represented in the accompanying
illustration, will be found of great service. It is a light double table
on easy-rolling casters, and can be readily constructed by anyone handy
in the use of tools. If preferred, the top may be covered with zinc. In
setting or clearing the table, the dishes may be placed on the lower
shelf, with the food on the top, and the table rolled from pantry to
dining room, and from dining room to kitchen; thus accomplishing, with
one trip, what is ordinarily done with hundreds of steps by the weary
housewife. If desirable to reset the table at once after a meal, the
waiter will be found most serviceable as a place whereon the glassware
and silverware may be washed. It is equally serviceable for holding the
utensils and material needed when cooking; being so easily moved, they
can be rolled to the stove and is always convenient.
[Illustration: The Handy Waiter.]
WALL CABINET.--where cupboard space is limited, or where for
convenience it is desirable to have some provision for supplies and
utensils near the range and baking table, a wall cabinet offers a most
convenient arrangement. It may be made of a size to fit in any
convenient niche, and constructed plainly or made as ornamental as one
pleases, with doors to exclude the dust, shelves on which to keep tin
cans filled with rice, oatmeal, cracked wheat, and other grains; glass
jars of raisins, sugar, citron, cornstarch, etc.; hooks on which may
hang the measures, egg-beater, potato masher, and such frequently needed
utensils; and with drawers for paring knives, spoons, and similar
articles, the wall cabinet becomes a _multum in parvo_ of convenience
which would greatly facilitate work in many households.
[Illustration: Wall Cabinet.]
PERCOLATE HOLDER.--The accompanying cut illustrates an
easily-constructed device for holding a jelly bag or percolate. It may
be so made as to be easily screwed to any ordinary table, and will save
the housekeeper far more than its cost in time and patience.
KNEADING TABLE.--Much of the tiresome labor of bread-making can be
avoided if one is supplied with some convenient table similar to the one
represented in the cut, wherein the needed material and utensils may be
kept in readiness at all times. The table illustrated has two large tin
drawers, each divided into two compartments, in which may be kept corn
meal, entire wheat, and Graham and white flours. Two drawers above
provide a place for rolling-pin, bread mallet, gem irons, spoons, etc.,
while a narrow compartment just beneath the hardwood top affords a place
for the kneading board. The table being on casters is easily moved to
any part of the kitchen for use.
[Illustration: Percolater Holder.]
[Illustration: Kneading Table.]
DISH-TOWEL RACK.--Nothing adds more to the ease and facility with
which the frequent dish-washings of the household may be accomplished
than clean, well-dried towels. For quick drying,--an item of great
importance if one would keep the towels fresh and sweet,--the towel rack
represented in the cut, and which can be made by any carpenter, is a
most handy device. When not in use, it can be turned up against the wall
as illustrated. It is light, affords sufficient drying space so that no
towel need be hung on top of another, and projecting out from the wall
as it does, the free circulation of air between the towels soon dries
them.
[Illustration: Dish-Towel Rack.]
KITCHEN BRUSHES.--These useful little articles can be put to such a
variety of uses that they are among the chiefest of household
conveniences. They are also so inexpensive, costing but five cents
apiece without handles and seven cents with handles, that no housewife
can afford to be without a supply of them. For the washing of dishes
with handles, the outside of iron kettles, and other cooking utensils
made of iron, they are especially serviceable. The smaller sizes are
likewise excellent for cleaning cut glass ware, Majolica ware,--in fact,
any kind of ware with raised figures or corrugated surfaces. For
cleaning a grater, nothing is superior to one of these little brushes.
Such a brush is also most serviceable for washing celery, as the
corrugated surface of the stalk makes a thorough cleaning with the hands
a difficult operation. Then if one uses a brush with handle, ice water,
which adds to the crispness of the celery, may be used for the cleaning,
as there will be no necessity for putting the hands in the water. A
small whisk broom is also valuable for the same purpose. Such vegetables
as potatoes, turnips, etc., are best cleaned with a brush. It makes the
work less disagreeable, as the hands need not be soiled by the process,
and in no other way can the cleaning be so well and thoroughly done.
[Illustration: Vegetable Brush.]
All brushes after being used should be carefully scalded and placed
brush downward in a wire sponge basket, or hung up on hooks. If left
around carelessly, they soon acquire the musty smell of a neglected
dishcloth.
TABLE TOPICS.
The kitchen is a chemical laboratory, in which are conducted a
number of chemical processes by which our food is converted from its
crudest state to condition more suitable for digestion and
nutrition, and made more agreeable to the palate.--_Prof. Matthew
Williams._
Half the trouble between mistresses and maids arises from the
disagreeable surroundings to which servants are confined. There is
no place more dismal than the ordinary kitchen in city dwellings. It
is half underground, ill-lighted, and unwholesome. What wonder,
then, in the absence of sunlight, there is a lack of sunny temper
and cheerful service? An ill-lighted kitchen is almost sure to be a
dirty one, where germs will thrive and multiply. Let sanitary
kitchens be provided, and we shall have more patient mistresses and
more willing servants.--_Sel._
A sluggish housemaid exclaimed, when scolded for the uncleanliness
of her kitchen, "I'm sure the room would be clean enough if it were
not for the nasty sun, which is always showing the dirty
corners."--_Sel._
If we would look for ready hands and willing hearts in our kitchens,
we should make them pleasant and inviting for those who literally
bear the "burden and heat of the day" in this department of our
homes, where, emphatically, "woman's work is never done." We should
no longer be satisfied to locate our kitchens in the most
undesirable corner of the house. We should demand ample
light,--sunshine if possible,--and justly too; for the very light
itself is inspiring to the worker. It will stir up cheer and breed
content in the minds of those whose lot is cast in this work-a-day
room.--_Sel._
Any invention on the part of the housekeeper intended to be a
substitute for watchfulness, will prove a delusion and a
snare.--_Sel._
"The first wealth is health," says Emerson.
A knowledge of sanitary principles should be regarded as an
essential part of every woman's education, and obedience to sanitary
laws should be ranked, as it was in the Mosaic code, as a religious
duty.--_Sel._
Much of the air of the house comes from the cellar. A heated house
acts like a chimney. A German experimenter states that one half of
the cellar air makes its way into the first story, one third into
the second, and one fifth into the third.
CEREALS AND THEIR PREPARATION FOR THE TABLE
Cereal is the name given to those seeds used as food (wheat, rye, oats,
barley, corn, rice, etc.), which are produced by plants belonging to the
vast order known as the grass family. They are used for food both in the
unground state and in various forms of mill products.
The grains are pre-eminently nutritious, and when well prepared, easily
digested foods. In composition they are all similar, but variations in
their constituent elements and the relative amounts of these various
elements, give them different degrees of alimentary value. They each
contain one or more of the nitrogenous elements,--gluten, albumen,
caseine, and fibrin,--together with starch, dextrine, sugar, and fatty
matter, and also mineral elements and woody matter, or cellulose. The
combined nutritive value of the grain foods is nearly three times that
of beef, mutton, or poultry. As regards the proportion of the food
elements necessary to meet the various requirements of the system,
grains approach more nearly the proper standard than most other foods;
indeed, wheat contains exactly the correct proportion of the food
elements.
Being thus in themselves so nearly perfect foods, and when properly
prepared, exceedingly palatable and easy of digestion, it is a matter of
surprise that they are not more generally used; yet scarcely one family
in fifty makes any use of the grains, save in the form of flour, or an
occasional dish of rice or oatmeal. This use of grains is far too meager
to adequately represent their value as an article of diet. Variety in
the use of grains is as necessary as in the use of other food material,
and the numerous grain preparations now to be found in market render it
quite possible to make this class of foods a staple article of diet, if
so desired, without their becoming at all monotonous.
In olden times the grains were largely depended upon as a staple food,
and it is a fact well authenticated by history that the highest
condition of man has always been associated with wheat-consuming
nations. The ancient Spartans, whose powers of endurance are proverbial,
were fed on a grain diet, and the Roman soldiers who under Caesar
conquered the world, carried each a bag of parched grain in his pocket
as his daily ration.
Other nationalities at the present time make extensive use of the
various grains. Rice used in connection with some of the leguminous
seeds, forms the staple article of diet for a large proportion of the
human race. Rice, unlike the other grain foods, is deficient in the
nitrogenous elements, and for this reason its use needs to be
supplemented by other articles containing an excess of the nitrogenous
material. It is for this reason, doubtless, that the Hindoos use
lentils, and the Chinese eat peas and beans in connection with rice.
We frequently meet people who say they cannot use the grains,--that they
do not agree with them. With all deference to the opinion of such
people, it may be stated that the difficulty often lies in the fact that
the grain was either not properly cooked, not properly eaten, or not
properly accompanied. A grain, simply because it is a grain, is by no
means warranted to faithfully fulfil its mission unless properly
treated. Like many another good thing excellent in itself, if found in
bad company, it is prone to create mischief, and in many cases the root
of the whole difficulty may be found in the excessive amount of sugar
used with the grain.
Sugar is not needed with grains to increase their alimentary value. The
starch which constitutes a large proportion of their food elements must
itself be converted into sugar by the digestive processes before
assimilation, hence the addition of cane sugar only increases the burden
of the digestive organs, for the pleasure of the palate. The Asiatics,
who subsist largely upon rice, use no sugar upon it, and why should it
be considered requisite for the enjoyment of wheat, rye, oatmeal,
barley, and other grains, any more than it is for our enjoyment of bread
or other articles made from these same grains? Undoubtedly the use of
grains would become more universal if they were served with less or no
sugar. The continued use of sugar upon grains has a tendency to cloy the
appetite, just as the constant use of cake or sweetened bread in the
place of ordinary bread would do. Plenty of nice, sweet cream or fruit
juice, is a sufficient dressing, and there are few persons who after a
short trial would not come to enjoy the grains without sugar, and would
then as soon think of dispensing with a meal altogether as to dispense
with the grains.
Even when served without sugar, the grains may not prove altogether
healthful unless they are properly eaten. Because they are made soft by
the process of cooking and on this account do not require masticating to
break them up, the first process of digestion or insalivation is usually
overlooked. But it must be remembered that grains are largely composed
of starch, and that starch must be mixed with the saliva, or it will
remain undigested in the stomach, since the gastric juice only digests
the nitrogenous elements. For this reason it is desirable to eat the
grains in connection with some hard food. Whole-wheat wafers, nicely
toasted to make them crisp and tender, toasted rolls, and unfermented
zwieback, are excellent for this purpose. Break two or three wafers into
rather small pieces over each individual dish before pouring on the
cream. In this way, a morsel of the hard food may be taken with each
spoonful of the grains. The combination of foods thus secured, is most
pleasing. This is a specially advantageous method of serving grains for
children, who are so liable to swallow their food without proper
mastication.
COOKING OF GRAINS.--All grains, with the exception of rice, and the
various grain meals, require prolonged cooking with gentle and
continuous heat, in order to so disintegrate their tissues and change
their starch into dextrine as to render them easy of digestion. Even the
so-called "steam-cooked" grains, advertised to be ready for use in five
or ten minutes, require a much longer cooking to properly fit them for
digestion. These so-called quickly prepared grains are simply steamed
before grinding, which has the effect to destroy any low organisms
contained in the grain. They are then crushed and shredded. Bicarbonate
of soda and lime is added to help dissolve the albuminoids, and
sometimes diastase to aid the conversion of the starch into sugar; but
there is nothing in this preparatory process that so alters the chemical
nature of the grain as to make it possible to cook it ready for easy
digestion in five or ten minutes. An insufficiently cooked grain,
although it may be palatable, is not in a condition to be readily acted
upon by the digestive fluids, and is in consequence left undigested to
act as a mechanical irritant.
[Illustration: A Double Boiler.]
For the proper cooking of grains the double boiler is the best and most
convenient utensil for ordinary purposes. If one does not possess a
double boiler, a very fair substitute may be improvised by using a
covered earthen crock placed within a kettle of boiling water, or by
using two pails, a smaller within a larger one containing boiling water.
A closed steamer or steam-cooker is also valuable for the cooking of
grains. Grains may be cooked in an ordinary kettle, but the difficulties
to be encountered, in order to prolong the cooking sufficiently and
prevent burning, make it the least desirable utensil for this purpose.
Water is the liquid usually employed for cooking grains, but many of
them are richer and finer flavored when milk is mixed with the
water,--one part to two of water. Especially is this true of rice,
hominy, and farina. When water is used, soft water is preferable to
hard. No salt is necessary, but if used at all, it is generally added to
the water before stirring in the grain or meal.
The quantity of liquid required varies with the different grains, the
manner in which they are milled, the method by which they are cooked,
and the consistency desired for the cooked grain, more liquid being
required for a porridge than for a mush. The following table gives the
time necessary for cooking and the quantity of liquid required for the
various grains, with the exception of rice, when cooked in a double
boiler or closed steamer, to produce a mush of ordinary consistency. If
an ordinary kettle is used for cooking the grains, a larger quantity of
water will be needed:--
TABLE SHOWING PROPORTION OF GRAIN AND LIQUID REQUIRED, WITH APPROXIMATE
TIME, WHEN A DOUBLE BOILER IS USED.
Quantity of Water Hours to
Grain. Required. Cook.
Graham Grits 1 part 4 parts 3 to 5
Rolled Wheat 1 " 3 " 3 to 4
Cracked " 1 " 4-1/2 " 3 to 4
Pearl " 1 " 4 " 4 to 5
Whole " 1 " 5 " 6 to 8
Rolled Oats 1 " 3 " 3 to 4
Coarse Oatmeal 1 " 4 " 4 to 6
Rolled Rye 1 " 3 " 3 to 4
Pearl Barley 1 " 5 " 4 to 5
Coarse Hominy 1 " 5 " 6 to 10
Fine Hominy 1 " 4 " 4 to 6
Cerealine 1 " 1 part 1/2
All grains should be carefully looked over before being put to cook.
In the cooking of grains, the following points should be observed:--
1. Measure both liquid and grain accurately with the same utensil, or
with two of equal size.
2. Have the water boiling when the grain is introduced, but do not
allow it to boil for a long time previous, until it is considerably
evaporated, as that will change the proportion of water and grain
sufficiently to alter the consistency of the mush when cooked. Introduce
the grain slowly, so as not to stop the sinking to the bottom, and the
whole becomes thickened. If the grain is cooked in a double boiler, this
first boiling should be done with the inner dish directly over the fire,
and when the grain has thickened or become "set," as it is termed, the
dish should at once be placed in the outer boiler, the water in which
should be boiling. It will then require no further care during the
entire cooking, safe to keep the outer boiler filled and the water
boiling. If the grain is to be cooked in a steam-cooker, as soon as set
it may be turned into a china or an earthen dish, suitable for use on
the table, and placed at once in the steamer to complete the cooking. If
an ordinary kettle is used, it is well to place it upon an iron ring or
brick on some part of the range were it will just simmer, for the
remainder of the cooking.
3. Stir the grain continuously until it has set, but not at all
afterward. Grains are much more appetizing if, while properly softened,
they can still be made to retain their original form. Stirring renders
the preparation pasty, and destroys its appearance. Grains cooked in a
double boiler will require no stirring, and there will be little danger
of their being lumpy, underdone on top, and scorched at the bottom, as
is so often the case when cooked in a single boiler.
4. Cook continuously. If it be necessary to replenish the water in the
outer boiler at anytime, let it be done with water of boiling
temperature. If it is desired to have the mush quite thick and dry, the
boiler should be left uncovered during the latter part of the cooking.
If preferred moist, keep the cover on.
In the preparation of all mushes with meal or flour, it is a good plan
to make the material into a batter with a portion of the liquid retained
from the quantity given, before introducing it into the boiling water.
This prevents the tendency to cook in lumps, so frequent when dry meal
is scattered into boiling liquid. Care must be taken, however, to add
the moistened portion very slowly, stirring vigorously meantime, so that
the boiling will not be checked. Use warm water for moistening. The
other directions given for the whole or broken grains are applicable to
the ground products.
GRAINS FOR BREAKFAST.--Since hasty preparation will not suffice for
the grains, they cannot be conveniently cooked in the morning in time
for breakfast. This difficulty may be obviated by cooking the day
previous, and reheating in the following way:--
Place the grain, when sufficiently cooked, in the refrigerator or in
some place where it will cool quickly (as slow cooling might cause
fermentation), to remain overnight. If cooked in a porcelain-lined or
granite-ware double boiler, it may be left undisturbed, if uncovered. If
cooked in tin or iron, turn the grain into a large earthen or china
dish. To heat in the morning, fill the outer boiler with boiling water,
place the inner dish containing the grain therein, and steam until
thoroughly heated. No stirring and no additional liquid will be
necessary, and if placed upon the stove when beginning the preparations
for breakfast, it will be ready for serving in good season. If the grain
has been kept in an earthen dish, it may best be reheated by placing
that inside the steam cooker or an ordinary steamer over a kettle of
boiling water.
Cracked wheat, pearl wheat, oatmeal, and other course grain preparations
to be reheated, require for cooking a half cup of water in addition to
the quantity given in the table. For rolled wheat, rolled oats, rolled
rye, and other crushed grains, no more is needed. Grains may be used for
breakfast without reheating, if served with hot milk or cream. If one
has an Aladdin oven, the problem of grains for breakfast may be easily
solved by cooking them all night, and if started late in the evening,
they may be thus cooked over a single burner oil stove with the flame
turned low.
GRAINS AN ECONOMICAL FOOD.--While grains are pre-eminently among
the most nutritious of foods, they are also among the most economical,
the average price being from five to seven cents a pound, and even less
when purchased in bulk. If it be objected that they require much fuel to
secure the prolonged cooking necessary, we would say that a few cents'
worth of oil a week and a small lamp stove will accomplish the cooking
in a most efficient manner. For a hot-weather food there are few
articles which give greater satisfaction and require less time and labor
on the part of the housewife than grains, cooked by the aid of a small
lamp stove.
WHEAT.
DESCRIPTION.--Wheat is the most important of the grain foods. It is
probably a native of Southwestern Asia, though like most grains
cultivated from the earliest periods, its history is extremely obscure.
Wheat is of two principal kinds, characterized as soft and hard wheat,
though there are hundreds of named varieties of the grain. The
distinction between many of these is due to variation in the relative
proportions of starch and nitrogenous matter. Some contain not more than
eight per cent of nitrogenous elements, while others contain eighteen or
twenty per cent, with a corresponding decrease in carbonaceous elements.
This difference depends upon the soil, cultivation, season, climate, and
other conditions under which the grain is produced.
The structure of the wheat grain consists of an external tegument of a
hard, woody nature, so coherent that it appears in the form of scales or
bran when the wheat is ground, and an inner portion, more soft and
friable, consisting of several cellular layers. The layer nearest the
outer husk contains vegetable fibrin and fatty matter. The second layer
is largely composed of gluten cells; while the center comprising the
bulk of the grain, is chiefly made up of starch granules with a small
proportion of gluten.
The structure of a wheat kernel is well illustrated in the are situated
in different parts of the grain, and not uniformly distributed
throughout its structure. The outer husk of the berry is composed wholly
of innutritious and indigestible matter, but the thin layers which lie
next this outer covering contain the larger proportion of the
nitrogenous elements to be found in the entire kernel. The central
portion consists almost wholly of farinaceous matter.
[Illustration: Sectional View of Wheat Kernel.]
Phosphates and other mineral matter are present to some extent
throughout the entire grain, but preponderates in the external part.
Here is also found a peculiar, soluble, active principle called
diastase, which possesses the power of converting starch into sugar. The
dark color and marked flavor of Graham bread is undoubtedly due to the
influence of this element.
Until within a few years the unground grain was rarely used as an
article of food, but people are beginning to appreciate its
wholesomeness, and cracked, rolled, and pearled wheats are coming
rapidly into favor. Cracked wheat is the grain cleaned and then cut into
two or more pieces; in rolled wheat the grains are mashed between
rollers, by which process they are thoroughly softened in every part,
and are then easily cooked. Pearl wheat is the whole grain cleaned and
dressed. The whole grain is also cooked sometimes in its natural state.
PREPARATION AND COOKING.--Few articles of food show greater
difference between good and poor cooking than the various grains. Dry,
harsh, or underdone, they are as unwholesome as unpalatable. Like most
of the grains, wheat, with the exception of new wheat boiled whole,
should be put into boiling water and allowed to cook continuously but
slowly until done. Any of the unground preparations require prolonged
cooking. The average length of time and the approximate amount of water
needed in cooking _one cupful_ of the various wheat preparations in a
double boiler is stated on page 82.
_RECIPES._
PEARL WHEAT.--Heat a quart of water to boiling in the inner dish of
a double boiler, and stir into it one cup or one-half pint of pearl
wheat. Let it boil rapidly until thickened and the wheat has ceased
settling, then place in the outer boiler, in which the water should be
boiling, and cook continuously from three to four hours.
CRACKED WHEAT.--Cracked wheat may be cooked in the same manner as
pearl wheat, by using four and one-half parts of water to one of grain.
The length of time required to cook it thoroughly is about the same as
for pearl wheat.
ROLLED WHEAT.--This preparation of wheat requires only three parts
water to one of wheat. It should be cooked in the same way as pearled
wheat, but requires only three hours' cooking.
BOILED WHEAT (sometimes called frumenty).--Select newly-cut wheat,
well rubbed or threshed out. Look it over carefully, wash, and put to
cook in five times its measure of cold water. Let it come to a boil, and
cook gently until the grains burst open, and it can be readily mashed
between the thumb and finger. This will require from four to ten hours,
depending upon the age and variety of the wheat used. When done, it
should be even full of a rich, thick liquor. If necessary, add more
boiling water, but stir as little as possible. It may be served with
cream, the same as other wheat preparations. It is also excellent served
with lemon and other fruit sauces.
WHEAT WITH RAISINS.--Raisins or Zante currants may be added to any
of the foregoing recipes, if desired. The raisins or currants should be
well steamed previously, however, and stirred in lightly and evenly just
before dishing. If cooked with the grain, they become soft, broken, and
insipid. Figs, well steamed and chopped, may be added in the same way.
WHEAT WITH FRESH FRUIT.--Fresh whortleberries, blueberries, and
blackberries stirred into any of the well-cooked wheat preparations just
before serving, make a very desirable addition. A most delicious dish
may be prepared by stirring into well-cooked cracked wheat a few
spoonfuls of rather thick cream and some fresh wild blackberries. Serve
hot.
MOLDED WHEAT.--Cracked wheat, rolled wheat, or pearl wheat, cooked
according to the foregoing recipes, and turned into molds until cold,
makes a very palatable dessert, and may be served with sugar and cream
or with fruit juice. Bits of jelly placed on top of the molds in the
form of stars or crosses, add to the appearance. Molded grains are also
very nice served with fresh berries, either mashed or whole, arranged
around the mold.
FINER MILL PRODUCTS OF WHEAT.
The grain of wheat is inclosed in a woody envelope. The cellular layers
just beneath contain the largest proportion of nitrogenous matter, in
the form of gluten, and are hard of pulverization, while the starchy
heart of the grain is easily crumbled into fine dust. Thus it will be
readily understood that when the grain is subjected to an equal
pulverizing force, the several portions will be likely to be crushed
into particles of different sizes. The outer husk being toughest, will
be the least affected, the nitrogenous or glutenous portion will be much
finer, while the brittle starch will be reduced to powder. This first
simple product of grinding is termed wheat meal, unbolted, or Graham
flour, and of course contains all the elements of the grain. In ordinary
milling, however, this is subjected to various siftings, boltings, or
dressings, to separate the finer from the coarser particles, and then
subdivided into various grades of flour, which vary much in composition
and properties. The coarser product contains the largest proportion of
nutrients, while in the finer portions there is an exclusion of a large
part of the nitrogenous element of the grain. The outer portions of the
wheat kernel, which contain the greater part of the nitrogenous element,
are darker in color than the central, starchy portion. It will be
apparent, then, that the finer and whiter the flour, the less nutriment
it is likely to contain, and that in the use of superfine white flour
the eye is gratified at the expense of the body.
A preparation called farina, is made from the central portion of wheat,
freed from bran, and crushed into granules. Another preparation, called
Graham grits, is prepared by granulating the outer layers of the kernel
together with the germ of the wheat. This preparation, comparatively a
new one, includes the most nutritious properties of the grain, and its
granular form renders it excellent for mushes as well as for other
purposes. Farina is scarcely more nutritious than white flour, and
should not be used as a staple food. Graham grits contains the best
elements of the wheat grain in good proportion, and is one of the best
preparations of wheat. Other preparations of wheat somewhat similar in
character are farinose, germlet, etc.
_RECIPES._
FARINA.--Heat a pint of milk and one of water, or if preferred, a
quart of milk, in the inner cup of a double boiler; and when boiling,
stir in five tablespoonfuls of farina, moistened evenly with a little
milk. Let it boil rapidly until well set, which will be in about five or
eight minutes; then place in the outer boiler, and cook one hour. Serve
cold or hot with a dressing of cream or fruit juices. Farina may be
cooked in water alone, but on account of its lack of nutritive elements,
it is more valuable if prepared with milk.
FARINA WITH FIG SAUCE.--Cook the farina as in the foregoing recipe,
and serve hot with a fig sauce prepared as follows:--
Carefully look over, washed, and chop or cut quite finally, enough good
figs to make a cupful. Stew in a pint of water, to which has been added
a tablespoonful of sugar, until they are one homogeneous mass. If the
figs are not of the best quality and do not readily soften, it is well,
after stewing for a time, to rub them through a colander or vegetable
press to break up the tough portions and make a smooth sauce. Put a
spoonful of the hot fig sauce on each individual dish of farina, and
serve with cream or without dressing.
FARINA WITH FRESH FRUIT.--Cook the farina as previously directed.
Have some sliced yellow peaches, mellow sweet apples, or bananas in a
dish, turn the farina over them, stir up lightly with a fork, and serve
hot with cream.
MOLDED FARINA.--Farina to be used cold may be cooked in the same
manner as before described, with two or three tablespoonfuls of sugar
added at the same time with the farina, and when done, molded in cups
previously wet with a little cold water. Serve with a dressing of fruit
juice, whipped cream flavored with lemon, or mock cream flavored with
cocoanut.
GRAHAM GRITS.--To four parts of water boiling in the inner dish of
a double boiler add slowly, so as not to stop the boiling of the water,
one part of Graham grits. Stir until thickened, then place in the outer
boiler, and steam from three to five hours. Serve hot with cream, or
mold in cups previously dipped in cold water, and serve with a dressing
of fruit juice. The fig sauce prepared as previously directed, is also
excellent with Graham grits.
GRAHAM MUSH NO. 1.--Good flour is the first requisite for making
good Graham mush. Poor Graham flour cannot be made into first-class
mush. Flour made from the best white winter wheat is perhaps the best.
It may be used either sifted or unsifted, as preferred. The proportion
of flour and liquid to be used will necessarily vary somewhat with the
quality of the flour, but in general, three parts water to one of flour
will be needed. Too much flour not only makes the mush too thick, but
gives it an underdone taste. Stir the dried flour rapidly into boiling
water, (which should not cease to boil during the process), until a
thick porridge is obtained. It is well to have it a little thinner at
first than is desirable for serving, as it will thicken by cooking. Cook
slowly at least one hour. A longer time makes it more digestible.
Left-over Graham mush is nice spread on rather shallow tins, and simply
heated quickly in a hot oven.
GRAHAM MUSH NO. 2.--Moisten one pint of good Graham flour with a
pint of warm water, or enough to make a batter thin enough to pour. (The
quantity of water needed will vary a little with the fineness and
quality of the flour.) Pour this batter into a quart of water boiling in
the inner cup of a double boiler. Remember to add the batter
sufficiently slow, so as not to stop the boiling of the water. When
thickened, put into the outer boiler, and cook for one hour.
GRAHAM MUSH NO. 3.--Prepare in the same way as above, using milk or
part milk in the place of water. Left-over Graham mush at breakfast,
which has been prepared with water, is very nice if, while it is still
warm, a small quantity of hot milk is well stirred into it, and it is
then set by to be reheated in a double boiler for dinner.
GRAHAM MUSH WITH DATES.--Prepare a mush as for Graham mush No. 2.
When done, place in the dish in which the mush is to be served, some
nice, fresh dates from which the stones have been removed. Pour the mush
over them, and stir up lightly, taking care not to break the fruit, and
serve. Raisins previously steamed, or figs steamed and cut into pieces,
may be used instead of dates. Serve hot with cream, or mold, and serve
cold.
PLUM PORRIDGE.--Prepare a Graham mush as previously directed, and
when done, add to it a cup of well-steamed raisins and sufficient rich
milk to thin it to the consistency of porridge.
GRAHAM APPLE MUSH.--Prepare a smooth apple sauce of rather tart
apples. Sweeten it slightly, and thin with boiling water. Have this
mixture boiling, and add to it Graham flour, either sprinkled in dry or
moistened with water, sufficient to make a well-thickened mush. Cook,
and serve hot with cream.
GRANOLA MUSH.--Granola, a cooked preparation of wheat and oats,
manufactured by the Sanatarium Food Co., makes a most appetizing and
quickly prepared breakfast dish. Into a quart of boiling water sprinkle
a pint of granola. Cook for two or three minutes, and serve hot with
cream.
GRANOLA FRUIT MUSH.--Prepare the mush as directed, and stir into
it, when done, a large cupful of nicely-steamed, seedless raisins. Serve
hot with cream. Milk may be used instead of water, if preferred.
GRANOLA PEACH MUSH.--Instead of the raisins as directed in the
foregoing recipe, add to the mush, when done, a pint of sliced yellow
peaches. Finely-cut, mellow sweet apples, sliced bananas, and
blueberries may be used in a similar way.
BRAN JELLY.--Select some clean wheat bran, sprinkle it slowly into
boiling water as for Graham mush, stirring briskly meanwhile with a
wooden spoon, until the whole is about the consistency of thick gruel.
Cook slowly in a double boiler for two hours. Strain through a fine wire
sieve placed over the top of a basin. When strained, reheat to boiling.
Then stir into it a spoonful or so of sifted Graham flour, rubbed smooth
in a little cold water. Boil up once; turn into molds previously wet in
cold water, and when cool, serve with cream or fruit juice.
THE OAT, OR AVENA.
DESCRIPTION.--The native country of the plant from which our common
varieties of the oat are derived, is unknown. Oat grains have been found
among the remains of the lake-dwellers in Switzerland, and it is
probable that this plant was cultivated by the prehistoric inhabitants
of Central Europe.
The ancient Greeks and Romans used oats, ranking them next in value to
barley, which they esteemed above all other cereals. Although
principally grown as food for horses, the oat, when divested of its husk
and broken by a process of milling, is an exceedingly nutritious and
valuable article of diet for human beings; and there is no article of
food that has increased in general favor more rapidly in the last few
years than this grain.
The Scotch have long been famed for their large consumption of oatmeal.
It forms the staple article of diet for the peasantry, to which fact is
generally attributed the fine physique and uniform health for which
they, as a race, are particularly noted. It is related that Dr. Johnson,
of dictionary fame, who never lost an opportunity to disparage the
Scotch, on one occasion defined oats as, "In Scotland, food for men; in
England, food for horses." He was well answered by an indignant
Scotchman who replied, "Yes; and where can you find such fine men as in
Scotland, or such horses as in England?"
Oatmeal justly ranks high as an alimentary substance. It contains about
the same proportion of nitrogenous elements as wheat, and with the
exception of maize, is richer in fatty matter than any other of the
cultivated cereals. In general structure the oat resembles wheat.
To prepare oats for food, the husk, which is wholly indigestible in
character, must be thoroughly removed. To accomplish this, the grain is
first kiln-dried to loosen the husk, and afterward submitted to a
process of milling. Denuded of its integument, the nutritive part of the
grain is termed groats; broken into finer particles, it constitutes what
is known as oatmeal; rolled oats, or avena, is prepared by a process
which crushes the kernels. Oatmeal varies also in degrees of
trituration, some kinds being ground much finer than others. The more
finely-ground products are sometimes adulterated with barley meal, which
is cheaper than oatmeal and less nutritious. The black specks which are
sometimes found in oatmeal are particles of black oats which have been
ground in connection with the other.
Oatmeal lacks the tenacity of wheaten flour, and cannot, without the
addition of some other flour, be made into light bread. It is, however,
largely consumed by the inhabitants of Scotland and the north of
England, in the form of oatcakes. The oatmeal is mixed with water,
kneaded thoroughly, then rolled into very thin cakes, and baked on an
iron plate or griddle suspended over a fire. So much, however, depends
upon the kneading, that it is said that the common inquiry before the
engagement of a domestic servant in Scotland, is whether or not she is a
good kneader of oatcakes.
The most common use of oatmeal in this country is in the form of mush or
porridge. For this the coarser grades of meal are preferable. For people
in health, there is no more wholesome article of diet than oatmeal
cooked in this way and eaten with milk. For growing children, it is one
of the best of foods, containing, as it does, a large proportion of bone
and muscle-forming material, while to almost all persons who have become
accustomed to its use, it is extremely palatable. The time required for
its digestion is somewhat longer than that of wheaten meal prepared in
the same manner. It is apt to disagree with certain classes of
dyspeptics, having a tendency to produce acidity, though it is
serviceable as an article of diet in some forms of indigestion. The
manner of its preparation for the table has very much to do with its
wholesomeness. Indeed, many objectionable dishes are prepared from it.
One of these, called _brose_, much used in Scotland, is made by simply
stirring oatmeal into some hot liquid, as beef broth, or the water in
which a vegetable has been boiled. The result is a coarse, pasty mass of
almost raw oatmeal, an extremely indigestible compound, the use of which
causes water brash. A preparation called _sowens_, or flummery, made by
macerating the husks of the oats in water from twenty-four to thirty-six
hours, until the mixture ferments, then boiling down to the consistency
of gruel, is a popular article of food among the Scotch and Welsh
peasantry. When boiled down still more, so it will form a firm jelly
when cold, the preparation is called _budrum_.
PREPARATION AND COOKING.--Oatmeal requires much cooking in order to
break its starch cells; and the coarser the meal, the longer it should
be allowed to cook. A common fault in the use of oatmeal is that it is
served in an underdone state, which makes a coarse, indigestible dish of
what, with more lengthy preparation, would be an agreeable and
nutritious food. Like most of the grains, it is best put into boiling
soft water, and allowed to cook continuously and slowly. It is greatly
injured by stirring, and it is therefore preferably cooked in a double
boiler or closed steamer. If it is necessary to use an ordinary kettle,
place it on some part of the range where the contents will only simmer;
or a hot brick may be placed under it to keep it from cooking too fast.
It may be cooked the day previous, and warmed for use the same as other
grains.
RECIPES.
OATMEAL MUSH.--Heat a quart of water to boiling in the inner dish
of a double boiler, sift into it one cup of coarse oatmeal, and boil
rapidly, stirring continuously until it sets; then place in the outer
boiler, the water in which should be boiling, and cook three hours or
longer. Serve with cream.
OATMEAL FRUIT MUSH.--Prepare the oatmeal as directed above, and
stir in lightly, when dishing for the table, some sliced mellow and
juicy raw sweet apples. Strawberry apples and other slightly tart apples
are likewise excellent for the purpose. Well-ripened peaches and bananas
may also be used, if care is taken to preserve the slices whole, so as
to present an appetizing appearance. Both this and the plain oatmeal
mush are best eaten with toasted whole-wheat wafers or some other hard
food.
OATMEAL BLANCMANGE NO. 1.--Soak a cupful of coarse oatmeal over
night in a pint and a half of water. In the morning, beat the oatmeal
well with a spoon, and afterwards pass all the soluble portion through a
fine strainer. Place the liquid in the inner dish of a double boiler,
and cook for half an hour. Turn into cups, cool fifteen or twenty
minutes, and serve warm with cream and sugar, or a dressing of fruit
juice. A lemon sauce prepared as directed on page 354 likewise makes an
excellent dressing.
OATMEAL BLANCMANGE NO. 2.--Take a pint of well-cooked oatmeal, add
to it a pint of milk, part cream if obtainable. Beat well together, and
strain through a fine wire sieve. Turn the liquid into a saucepan, and
boil for a few moments, until it is thick enough to drop from the point
of a spoon; then turn into cups previously wet in cold water, and mold.
Serve with a dressing of fruit juice or whipped cream slightly sweetened
and flavored with lemon.
JELLIED OATMEAL.--Cook oatmeal or rolled oats with an additional
cup or cup and a half of water, and when done, turned into cups and
mold. Serve cold with hot cream.
MIXED MUSH.--A cup and a half of rolled wheat, mixed with one-half
cup of coarse oatmeal, and cooked the same as oatmeal, forms a mush
preferred by some to oatmeal alone.
ROLLED OATS.--This preparation of oats should be cooked the same
as oatmeal, but requires only three parts water to one of rolled oats,
when cooked in a double boiler.
OATMEAL WITH APPLE.--Cold oatmeal which has been left over may be
made into an appetising dish by molding in alternate layers with
nicely-steamed tart apple, sprinkled lightly with sugar. Serve with
cream. Other cooked fruit, such as cherries, evaporated peaches, and
apricots may be used in the same way. A very pleasing dish is made by
using between the layers ripe yellow peaches and plums sliced together,
and lightly sprinkled with sugar.
OATMEAL PORRIDGE.--Into a quart and a half of water, which should
be boiling in the inner dish of a double boiler, sprinkle one cup of
rather coarse oatmeal. Boil rapidly, stirring meanwhile until the grain
is set; then place in the outer boiler, and cook continuously for three
hours or longer. A half cup of cream added just before serving, is a
desirable addition.
BARLEY.
DESCRIPTION.--Barley is stated by historians to be the oldest of
all cultivated grains. It seems to have been the principal bread plant
among the ancient Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans. The Jews especially held
the grain in high esteem, and sacred history usually uses it
interchangeably with wheat, when speaking of the fruits of the Earth.
Among the early Greeks and Romans, barley was almost the only food of
the common people and the soldiers. The flour was made into gruel, after
the following recipe: "Dry, near the fire or in the oven, twenty pounds
of barley flour, then parch it. Add three pounds of linseed meal, half a
pound of coriander seeds, two ounces of salt, and the water necessary."
If an especially delectable dish was desired, a little millet was also
added to give the paste more "cohesion and delicacy." Barley was also
used whole as a food, in which case it was first parched, which is still
the manner of preparing it in some parts of Palestine and many districts
of India, also in the Canary Islands, where it is known as _gofio_. Of
this custom a lady from Palestine writes: "The reapers, during barley
harvest, take bunches of the half-ripe grain, and singe, or parch, it
over a fire of thorns. The milk being still in the grain, it is very
sweet, and is considered a delicacy."
In the time of Charles I, barley meal took the place of wheat almost
entirely as the food of the common people in England. In some parts of
Europe, India, and other Eastern countries, it is still largely consumed
as the ordinary farinaceous food of the peasantry and soldiers. The
early settlers of New England also largely used it for bread making. At
the present day only a very insignificant quantity of barley is used for
food purposes in this country, and most of this in the unground state.
Barley is less nutritious than wheat, and to many people is less
agreeable in flavor. It is likewise somewhat inferior in point of
digestibility. Its starch cells being less soluble, they offer more
resistance to the gastric juice.
There are several distinct species of barley, but that most commonly
cultivated is designated as two-rowed, or two-eared barley. In general
structure, the barley grain resembles wheat and oats.
Simply deprived of its outer husk, the grain is termed _Scotch milled_
or _pot barley_. Subjected still further to the process by which the
fibrous outer coat of the grain is removed, it constitutes what is known
as _pearl barley_. Pearl barley ground into flour is known as _patent
barley_. Barley flour, owing to the fact that it contains so small a
proportion of gluten, needs to be mixed with wheaten flour for
bread-making purposes. When added in small quantity to whole-wheat
bread, it has a tendency to keep the loaf moist, and is thought by some
to improve the flavor.
The most general use made of this cereal as a food, is in the form of
pearl, or Scotch, barley. When well boiled, barley requires about two
hours for digestion.
GENERAL SUGGESTIONS FOR COOKING BARLEY.--The conditions requisite
for cooking barley are essentially the same as for oatmeal. It is best
cooked slowly. Four parts of water to one of grain will be needed for
steaming or cooking in a double boiler, and from four to five hours'
time will be required, unless the grain has been previously soaked for
several hours, in which case three hours will do. If the strong flavor
of the grain is objected to, it may be soaked over night and cooked in
fresh water. This method will, however, be a sacrifice of some of the
nutriment contained in the grain. Barley thus soaked will require only
three parts water to one of barley for cooking.
_RECIPES._
BAKED BARLEY.--Soak six tablespoonfuls of barley in cold water over
night. In the morning, turn off the water, and put the barley in an
earthen pudding dish, and pour three and one half pints of boiling water
over it; add salt if desired, and bake in a moderately quick oven about
two and one half hours, or till perfectly soft, and all the water is
absorbed. When about half done, add four or five tablespoonfuls of sugar
mixed with grated lemon peel. It may be eaten warm, but is very nice
molded in cups and served cold with cream.
PEARL BARLEY WITH RAISINS.--Carefully look over and wash a cupful
of pearl barley. Cook in a double boiler in five cups of boiling water
for four hours. Just before serving, add a cupful of raisins which have
been prepared by pouring boiling water over them and allowing them to
stand until swollen. Serve hot, with cream.
PEARL BARLEY WITH LEMON SAUCE.--Pearl barley cooked in the same
manner, but without the addition of the raisins, is excellent served
with cream or with a lemon sauce prepared as directed on page 354.
RICE.
DESCRIPTION.--Rice is one of the most abundantly used and most
digestible of all the cereals. It grows wild in India, and it is
probable that this is its native home. It is, however, now cultivated in
most tropical and sub-tropical climates, and is said to supply the
principal food for nearly one third of the human race. It is mentioned
in history several hundred years before Christ. According to Soyer, an
old writer on foods, the Greeks and Romans held rice in high esteem,
believing it to be a panacea for chest and lung diseases.
The grain is so largely grown and used by the Chinese that "fan," their
word for rice, has come to enter into many compound words. A beggar is
called a "tou-fan-tee," that is, "the rice-seeking one." The ordinary
salutation, "Che-fan," which answers to our "How do you do?" means,
"Have you eaten your rice?"
Rice requires a wet soil, and the fields in which the grain is raised,
sometimes called "paddy" fields, are periodically irrigated. Before
ripening, the water is drained off, and the crop is then cut with a
sickle, made into shocks, stacked, threshed, and cleaned, much like
wheat. The rice kernel is inclosed within two coverings, a course outer
husk, which is easily removed, and an inner, reddish, siliceous coating.
"Paddy" is the name given in India to the rice grain when inclosed in
its husk. The same is termed "rough rice" in this country. The outer
husk of the rice is usually removed in the process of threshing, but the
inner red skin, or hull, adheres very closely, and is removed by rubbing
and pounding. The rough rice is first ground between large stones, and
then conveyed into mortars, and pounded with iron-shod pestles. Thence,
by fanning and screening, the husk is fully removed, and the grain
divided into three different grades, whole, middlings, and small whole
grains, and polished ready for market. The middlings consist of the
larger broken pieces of the grain; the small rice, of the small
fragments mixed with the chit of the grain. The broken rice, well dried,
is sometimes ground into flour of different degrees of fineness. The
small rice is much sweeter and somewhat superior in point of nutritive
value to the large or head rice usually met with in commerce.
Rice is characterized by a large percentage of starch, and is so
deficient in other food elements that if used alone, unless consumed in
very large quantities, it will not furnish the requisite amount of
nitrogenous material necessary for a perfect health food. For this
reason, it is necessary to supplement its use with some other food
containing an excess of nitrogenous elements, as peas, beans, milk, etc.
Associated with other articles rich in albuminous elements, rice is
exceedingly valuable, and one of the most easily digested foods. Boiled
or steamed rice requires but a little over one hour for digestion.
PREPARATION AND COOKING.--Rice needs to be thoroughly washed to
remove the earthy taste it is so apt to have. A good way to do this is
to put it into a colander, in a deep pan of water. Rub the rice well
with the hands, lifting the colander in and out the water, and changing
the water until it is clear; then drain. In this way the grit is
deposited in the water, and the rice left thoroughly clean.
The best method of cooking rice is by steaming it. If boiled in much
water, it loses a portion of its already small percentage of nitrogenous
elements. It requires much less time for cooking than any of the other
grains. Like all the dried grains and seeds, rice swells in cooking to
several times its original bulk. When cooked, each grain of rice should
be separate and distinct, yet perfectly tender.
RECIPES.
STEAMED RICE.--Soak a cup of rice in one and a fourth cups of water
for an hour, then add a cup of milk, turn into an earthen dish suitable
for serving it from at table, and place in a steam-cooker or a covered
steamer over a kettle of boiling water, and steam for an hour. It should
be stirred with a fork occasionally, for the first ten or fifteen
minutes.
BOILED RICE (Japanese method).--Thoroughly cleanse the rice by
washing in several waters, and soak it overnight. In the morning, drain
it, and put to cook in an equal quantity of boiling water, that is, a
pint of water for a pint of rice. For cooking, a stewpan with tightly
fitting cover should be used. Heat the water to boiling, then add the
rice, and after stirring, put on the cover, which is not again to be
removed during the boiling. At first, as the water boils, steam will
puff out freely from under the cover, but when the water has nearly
evaporated, which will be in eight to ten minutes, according to the age
and quality of the rice, only a faint suggestion of steam will be
observed, and the stewpan must then be removed from over the fire to
some place on the range, where it will not burn, to swell and dry for
fifteen or twenty minutes.
Rice to be boiled in the ordinary manner requires two quarts of boiling
water to one cupful of rice. It should be boiled rapidly until tender,
then drained at once, and set in a moderate oven to become dry. Picking
and lifting lightly occasionally with a fork will make it more flaky and
dry. Care must be taken, however, not to mash the rice grains.
RICE WITH FIG SAUCE.--Steam a cupful of best rice as directed
above, and when done, serve with a fig sauce prepared as directed on
page 89. Dish a spoonful of the fig sauce with each saucer of rice, and
serve with plenty of cream. Rice served in this way requires no sugar
for dressing, and is a most wholesome breakfast dish.
ORANGE RICE.--Wash and steam the rice according to directions
already given. Prepare some oranges by separating into sections and
cutting each section in halves, removing the seeds and all the white
portion. Sprinkle the oranges lightly with sugar, and let them stand
while the rice is cooking. Serve a portion of the orange on each
saucerful of rice.
RICE WITH RAISINS.--Carefully wash a cupful of rice, soak it, and
cook as directed for Steamed Rice. After the rice has began to swell,
but before it has softened, stir into it lightly, using a fork for the
purpose, a cupful of raisins, or Zante currents. Serve with cream.
RICE WITH PEACHES.--Steam the rice as previously directed, and when
done, serve with cream and a nicely ripened peach pared and sliced on
each individual dish.
BROWNED RICE.--Spread a cupful of rice on a shallow baking tin, and
put into a moderately hot oven to brown. It will need to be stirred
frequently to prevent burning and to secure a uniformity of color. Each
rice kernel, when sufficiently browned, should be of a yellowish brown,
about the color of ripened wheat. Steam the same as directed for
ordinary rice, using only two cups of water for each cup of browned
rice, and omitting the preliminary soaking. When properly cooked, each
kernel will be separated, dry, and mealy. Rice prepared in this manner
is undoubtedly more digestible than when cooked without browning.
RYE.
DESCRIPTION.--Rye is much more largely grown and used in European
countries that in America. In appearance it closely resembles wheat,
although somewhat darker in color and smaller in size. Bread made from
rye constitutes the staple food of the people in many parts of Europe.
In nutritive value such bread nearly equals that made from wheat, but it
has an acid taste not relished by persons unaccustomed to its use.
Rye is found in market deprived of its husk and crushed or rolled, and
also in the form of meal and flour.
_RECIPES._
ROLLED RYE.--Into three parts water boiling in the inner dish of a
double boiler, stir one part rolled rye. Boil rapidly until set,
stirring meanwhile, then place in the outer boiler, and cook for three
or more hours.
RYE MUSH.--Stir a cupful of rye meal to a smooth batter with a
cupful of water, then turn it slowly into three cupfuls of water, which
should be boiling on the range, in the inner dish of a double boiler.
Stir until thickened, then place in the outer boiler, and cook for an
hour or longer.
MAIZE, OR INDIAN CORN.
DESCRIPTION.--There can be little doubt that maize is of American
origin. The discoverers of the new world found it cultivated by the
aborigines, and from the fact that corn was the generic term then
largely used to designate grain (in old English, "corn" means grain),
they named it "Indian corn." Since that time it has been carried to
nearly every part of the globe, and probably it is more extensively used
than any other one of the cereals, with the exception of rice. This is
undoubtedly due to the fact that it is the most prolific of the grains,
and is adapted to the widest range of climate.
Maize was the chief food of the slaves of Brazil, as it used to be of
those in our own Southern States, and is very largely consumed in Mexico
and Peru. It was used very little in Europe until the Irish famine in
1847; since then, it has become a staple food with the poorer classes.
The varieties of corn are almost too numerous to be counted. For general
purposes, however, they may be classified as field corn, sweet corn, and
pop corn.
Corn is characterized by an excess of fatty matter, containing upwards
of three times the amount of that element to be found in wheat. Corn
requires stronger powers of digestion than wheat, and is unsuited to
some stomachs.
The skin of the corn kernel is thin, and when subjected to milling
processes, is included in the grinding. When well ground, it can be
digested, with the exception of the siliceous coating.
Sweet corn and some of the field varieties, form a nutritious and
favorite food while green. The mature grain is used in many forms. The
whole grain, hulled, is an agreeable food. Hulled, broken, or split to
various degrees of fineness, it is known according to the size to which
the grain has been reduced as hominy, fine hominy, or grits; or, if
finer still, as samp. Subjected to a process of still finer trituration,
it forms meal. Cornstarch consists of the farinaceous portions of the
grain.
On account of the large proportion of fatty matter contained in maize,
it acquires, if kept for some time and unpleasant, rancid taste,
occasioned by the usual change which takes place in fat when exposed to
the atmosphere.
The new process granular meal, which is prepared from corn dried for a
long period before grinding, becomes rank less quickly than that ground
in the old way.
Maize meal is very largely consumed in the form of mush or porridge.
This, in Ireland, is termed "stirabout;" in Italy it is called
"polenta;" and in British Honduras it is known as "corn lob."
GENERAL SUGGESTIONS FOR COOKING.--Most of the various preparations
from maize require prolonged cooking to render them wholesome; this is
equally true respecting mushes prepared from samp or meal, a dish which
unfortunately some cook in bygone days saw fit to term "hasty pudding."
Unthinking people since, supposing it to have been so named because of
the little time required to cook it, have commonly prepared it in
fifteen or twenty minutes, whereas from one to two hours, or even
longer, are necessary to cook it properly. Hulled corn, hominy, and
grits, all require prolonged cooking. The time for cooking these
preparations may be somewhat lessened if they are previously soaked over
night. They should, however, be cooked in the same water in which they
are soaked.
_RECIPES._
CORN MEAL MUSH.--stir together one pint of cornmeal, one
tablespoonful of flour, and one pint of cold milk. Turn this slowly,
stirring well meanwhile, into one quart of boiling water, which should
not cease to boil during the introduction of the batter. Cook three or
four hours. If milk is not obtainable, water alone may be used, in which
case two tablespoonfuls of flour will be needed. Cook in a double
boiler.
CORN MEAL MUSH WITH FRUIT.--Mush prepared in the above manner may
have some well-steamed raisins or chopped figs added to it just before
serving.
CORN MEAL CUBES.--Left-over corn meal mush may be made into an
appetizing dish by first slicing into rather thick slices, then cutting
into cubes about one inch squares. Put the cubes into a tureen and turn
over them a quantity of hot milk or cream. Cover the dish, let them
stand until thoroughly heated through, then serve.
BROWNED MUSH.--Slice cold corn meal mush rather thin, brush each
slice with thick, sweet cream, and brown in a moderate oven until well
heated through.
SAMP.--Use one part of samp to four and one half parts of boiling
water. It is the best plan to reserve enough of the water to moisten the
samp before adding it to the boiling water, as it is much less likely to
cook in lumps. Boil rapidly, stirring continuously, until the mush has
well set, then slowly for from two to three hours.
CEREALINE FLAKES.--Into one measure of boiling liquid stir an equal
measure of cerealine flakes, and cook in a double boiler from one half
to three fourths of an hour.
HULLED CORN.--_To Hull the Corn._--Put enough wood ashes into a
large kettle to half fill it; then nearly fill with hot water, and boil
ten minutes. Drain off the water from the ashes, turn it into a kettle,
and pour in four quarts of clean, shelled field corn, white varieties
preferred. Boil till the hulls rub off. Skim the corn out of the lye
water, and put it into a tub of fresh cold water. To remove the hulls,
scrub the corn well with a new stiff brush broom kept for the purpose,
changing the water often. Put through half a dozen or more waters, and
then take the corn out by handfuls, rubbing each well between the hands
to loosen the remaining hulls, and drop again into clear water. Pick out
all hulls. Cleanse the corn through several more waters if it is to be
dried and kept before using. Well hulled corn is found in the markets.
_To Cook._--If it is to be cooked at once, it should be parboiled in
clear water twice, and then put into new water and cooked till tender.
It should be nearly or quite dry when done. It may be served with milk
or cream.
COARSE HOMINY.--For coarse hominy use four parts of water or milk
and water to one of grain. It is best steamed or cooked in a double
boiler, though it may be boiled in a kettle over a slow fire. The only
objection to this method is the need of frequent stirring to prevent
sticking, which breaks and mashes the hominy. From four to five hours'
slow cooking will be necessary, unless the grain has been previously
soaked; then about one hour less will be required.
FINE HOMINY OR GRITS.--This preparation is cooked in the same
manner as the foregoing, using three and one half or four parts of water
to one of the grain. Four or five hours will be necessary for cooking
the unsoaked grits.
POPPED CORN.--The small, translucent varieties of maize known as
"pop corn," possessed the property, when gently roasted, of bursting
open, or turning inside out, a process which is owing to the following
facts: Corn contains an excess of fatty matter. By proper means this fat
can be separated from the grain, and it is then a thick, pale oil. When
oils are heated sufficiently in a vessel closed from the air, they are
turned into gas, which occupies many times the bulk of the oil. When pop
corn is gradually heated, and made so hot that the oil inside of the
kernel turns to gas, being unable to escape through the hull of the
kernel, the pressure finally becomes strong enough to burst the grain,
and the explosion is so violent as to shatter it in a most curious
manner.
Popped corn forms an excellent food, the starch of the grain being will
cooked. It should, however, be eaten in connection with other food at
mealtime, and not as a delicacy between meals. Ground pop corn is
considered a delectable dish eaten with milk or cream; it also forms the
base of several excellent puddings.
To pop the corn, shell and place in a wire "popper" over a bed of bright
coals, or on the top of a hot stove; stir or shake continuously, so that
each kernel may be subjected to the same degree of heat on all sides,
until it begins to burst open. If a popper is not attainable, a common
iron skillet covered tightly, and very lightly oiled on the bottom, may
be used for the purpose. The corn must be very dry to begin with, and if
good, nearly every kernel will pop open nicely. It should be used within
twenty-four hours after popping.
MACARONI.
DESCRIPTION.--Macaroni is a product of wheat prepared from a hard,
clean, glutenous grain. The grain is ground into a meal called
_semolina_, from which the bran is excluded. This is made into a tasty
dough by mixing with hot water in the proportion of two thirds
_semolina_ to one third water. The dough after being thoroughly mixed is
put into a shallow vat and kneaded and rolled by machinery. When well
rolled, it is made to assume varying shapes by being forced by a
powerful plunger through the perforated head of strong steel or iron
cylinders arranged above a fire, so that the dough is partially baked as
it issues from the holes. It is afterwards hung over rods or laid upon
frames covered with cloth, and dried. It is called by different names
according to its shape. If in the shape of large, hollow cylinders, it
is _macaroni;_ if smaller in diameter, it is _spaghetti;_ if fine,
_vermicelli;_ if the paste is cut into fancy patterns, it is termed
_pasta d'Italia_.
Macaroni was formerly made only in Italy, but at present is manufactured
to a considerable extent in the United States. The product, however, is
in general greatly inferior to that imported from Italy, owing to the
difference in the character of the wheat from which it is made, the
Italian macaroni being produced from a hard, semi-translucent wheat,
rich in nitrogenous elements, and which is only grown successfully in a
hot climate. Like all cereal foods, macaroni should be kept in a
perfectly dry storeroom.
TO SELECT MACARONI.--Good macaroni will keep in good condition for
years. It is rough, elastic, and hard; while the inferior article is
smooth, soft, breaks easily, becomes moldy with keeping. Inferior
macaroni contains a large percentage of starch, and but a small amount
of gluten. When put into hot water, it assumes a white, pasty
appearance, and splits in cooking. Good macaroni when put into hot water
absorbs a portion of the water, swells to nearly double its size, but
perfectly retains its shape. Inferior macaroni is usually sold a few
cents cheaper per pound than the genuine article. It contains a much
smaller amount of gluten. The best quality of any shape one pleases can
be bought in most markets for ten or fifteen cents a pound.
TO PREPARE AND COOK MACARONI.--Do not wash macaroni. If dusty, wipe
with a clean, dry cloth. Break into pieces of convenient size. Always
put to cook in boiling liquid, taking care to have plenty of water in
the saucepan (as it absorbs a large quantity), and cook until tender.
The length of time required may vary from twenty minutes, if fresh, to
one hour if stale. When tender, turn into a colander and drain, and pour
cold water through it to prevent the tubes from sticking together. The
fluid used for cooking may be water, milk, or a mixture of both; also
soup stock, tomato juice, or any preferred liquid.
Macaroni serves as an important adjunct to the making of various soups,
and also forms the basis of other palatable dishes.
_RECIPES._
HOME-MADE MACARONI.--To four cupfuls of flour, add one egg well
beaten, and enough water to make a dough that can be rolled. Roll thin
on a breadboard and cut into strips. Dry in the sun. The best
arrangement for this purpose is a wooden frame to which a square of
cheese-cloth has been tightly tacked, upon which the macaroni may be
laid in such a way as not to touch, and afterwards covered with a
cheese-cloth to keep off the dust during the drying.
BOILED MACARONI.--Break sticks of macaroni into pieces about an
inch in length, sufficient to fill a large cup; put it into boiling
water and cook until tender. When done, drained thoroughly, then add a
pint of milk, part cream if it can be afforded, a little salt and one
well-beaten egg; stir over the fire until it thickens, and serve hot.
MACARONI WITH CREAM SAUCE.--Cook the macaroni as directed in the
proceeding, and serve with a cream sauce prepared by heating a scant
pint of rich milk to boiling, in a double boiler. When boiling, add a
heaping tablespoonful of flour, rubbed smoothed in a little milk and one
fourth teaspoonful of salt. If desired, the sauce may be flavored by
steeping in the milk before thickening for ten or fifteen minutes, a
slice of onion or a few bits of celery, and then removing with a fork.
MACARONI WITH TOMATO SAUCE.--Break a dozen sticks of macaroni into
two-inch lengths, and drop into boiling milk and water, equal parts. Let
it boil for an hour, or until perfectly tender. In the meantime prepare
the sauce by rubbing a pint of stewed or canned tomatoes through a
colander to remove all seeds and fragments. Heat to boiling, thicken
with a little flour; a tablespoonful to the pint will be about the
requisite proportion. Add salt and if desired, a half cup of very thin
sweet cream. Dish the macaroni into individual dishes, and serve with a
small quantity of the sauce poured over each dish.
MACARONI BAKED WITH GRANOLA.--Break macaroni into pieces about an
inch in length sufficient to fill a large cup, and cook until tender in
boiling milk and water. When done, drain and put a layer of the macaroni
in the bottom of an earthen pudding dish, and sprinkle over it a scant
teaspoonful of granola. Add a second and third layer and sprinkle each
with granola; then turn over the whole a custard sauce prepared by
mixing together a pint of milk, the well beaten yolks of two eggs or one
whole egg, and one-fourth of a teaspoonful of salt. Care should be taken
to arrange the macaroni in layers loosely, so that the sauce will
readily permeate the whole. Bake for a few minutes only, until the
custard has well set, and serve.
EGGS AND MACARONI.--Break fifteen whole sticks of macaroni into
two-inch lengths, and put to cook in boiling water. While the macaroni
is cooking, boil the yolks of four eggs until mealy. The whole egg may
be used if caught so the yolks are mealy in the whites simply jellied,
not hardened. When the macaroni is done, drain and put a layer of it
arranged loosely in the bottom of an earthen pudding dish. Slice the
cooked egg yolks and spread a layer of them over the macaroni. Fill the
dish with alternate layers of macaroni and egg, taking care to have the
top layer of macaroni. Pour over the whole a cream sauce prepared as
follows: Heat one and three fourths cup of rich milk to boiling, add one
fourth teaspoonful of salt and one heaping spoonful of flour rubbed
smooth in a little cold milk. Cook until thickened, then turn over the
macaroni. Sprinkle the top with grated bread crumbs, and brown in a hot
oven for eight or ten minutes. Serve hot.
TABLE TOPICS.
Sir Isaac Newton, when writing his grail work, "Principia," lived
wholly upon a vegetable, diet.
ROBERT COLLYER once remarked; "One great reason why I never had a
really sick day in my life was that as boy I lived on oatmeal and
milk and brown bread, potatoes and a bit of meat when I could get
it, and then oatmeal again."
HOT-WEATHER DIET.--The sultry period of our summer, although
comparatively slight and of short duration, is nevertheless felt by
some people to be extremely oppressive, but this is mainly due to
the practice of eating much animal food or fatty matters, conjoined
as it often is with the habit of drinking freely of fluids
containing more or less alcoholics. Living on cereals, vegetables,
and fruits, and abstaining from alcoholic drinks, the same persons
would probably enjoy the temperature, and be free from the thirst
which is the natural result of consuming needlessly heating
food.--_Sir Henry Thompson._
_Mistress_ (arranging for dinner)--"Didn't the macaroni come from
the grocer's, Bridget?"
_Bridget_--"Yis, mum, but oi sint it back. Every won av thim leetle
stims wuz impty."
Some years since, a great railroad corporation in the West, having
occasion to change the gauge of its road throughout a distance of
some five hundred miles, employed a force of 3,000 workmen upon the
job, who worked from very early in the morning until late at night.
Alcoholic drinks were strictly prohibited, but a thin gruel made of
oatmeal and water was kept on hand and freely partaken of by the men
to quench their thirst. The results were admirable; not a single
workmen gave out under the severe strain, and not one lost a day
from sickness. Thus this large body of men were kept well and in
perfect strength and spirits, and the work was done in considerably
less time than that counted on for its completion.
In Scotch households oatmeal porridge is as inevitable as breakfast
itself, except perhaps on Sundays, as this anecdote will illustrate.
A mother and child were passing along a street in Glasgow, when this
conversation was overheard:--
"What day is the morn, mither?"
"Sabbath, laddie."
"An' will wi hae tea to breakfast, mither?"
"Aye, laddie, gin we're spared."
"An' gin we're no spared, will we hae parrich?"
BREADSTUFFS AND BREADMAKING
Although the grains form most nutritious and palatable dishes when
cooked in their unground state, this is not always the most convenient
way of making; use of them. Mankind from earliest antiquity has sought
to give these wonderful products of nature a more portable and
convenient form by converting them into what is termed bread, a word
derived from the verb _bray_, to pound, beat, or grind small, indicative
of the ancient manner of preparing the grain for making bread. Probably
the earliest form of bread was simply the whole grain moistened and then
exposed to heat. Afterward, the grains were roasted and ground, or
pounded between stones, and unleavened bread was made by mixing this
crude flour with water, and baking in the form of cakes. Among the many
ingenious arrangements used by the ancients for baking this bread, was a
sort of portable oven in shape something like a pitcher, in the inside
of which a fire was made. When the oven was well heated, a paste made of
meal and water was applied to the outside. Such bread was baked very
quickly and taken off in small, thin sheets like wafers. A flat cake was
the common form in which most of the bread of olden times was baked;
being too brittle to be cut with a knife, the common mode of dividing it
was by breaking and hence the expression "breaking bread" so common in
Scripture.
Various substances have been and are employed for making this needful
article. Until the last few decades, barley was the grain most
universally used. Chestnuts, ground to a flour, are made into bread in
regions where these nuts abound. Quite recently, an immense peanut crop
in the Southern States was utilized for bread-making purposes. In
ancient times, the Thracians made to bread from a flour made from the
_water coltran_, a prickly root of triangular form. In Syria, mulberries
were dried and grounded to flour. Rice, moss, palm tree piths, and
starch producing roots are used by different nationalities in the
preparation of bread. In many parts of Sweden, bread is made from dried
fish, using one half fish flour and one half barley flour; and in
winter, flour made from the bark of trees is added. Desiccated tomatoes,
potatoes, and other vegetables are also mixed with the cereals for
bread-making. In India, the lower classes make their bread chiefly from
millet. Moss bread is made in Iceland from the reindeer moss, which
toward autumn becomes soft, tender, and moist, with a taste like wheat
bran. It contains a large quantity of starch, and the Icelanders gather,
dry, pulverize it, and thus prepare it for bread-making. The ancient
Egyptians often made their bread from equal parts of the whole grain and
meal.
The breadstuff's most universally used among civilized nations at the
present time are barley, rye, oats, maize, buckwheat, rice, and wheat,
of which the last has acquired a decided preference.
If made in the proper manner and from suitable material, bread is, with
the exception of milk, the article best fitted for the nourishment of
the body, and if need be, can supply the place of all other foods. Good
bread does not cloy the appetite as do many other articles of food, and
the simplest bill of fare which includes light, wholesome bread, is far
more satisfying than an elaborate meal without it. Were the tables of
our land supplied with good, nutritious, well-baked bread, there would
be less desire for cake, pastry, and other indigestible particles,
which, under the present system of cookery, are allowed to compensate
for the inferior quality and poor preparation of more wholesome foods.
Bread has been proverbially styled the "staff of life." In nearly all
ancient languages the entomology of the word "bread" signifies all,
indicating; that the bread of earlier periods was in truth what it
should be at the present time,--a staff upon which all the functions of
life might with safety depend.
Notwithstanding the important part bread was designed to play in the
economy of life, it would be hardly possible to mention another aliment
which so universally falls below the standard either through the manner
of its preparation or in the material used.
Bread, to answer the requirements of a good, wholesome article of food,
beside being palatable, must be light, porous, and friable, so that it
can be easily insalivated and digested. It should not contain
ingredients which will in any way be injurious if taken into the system,
but should contain as many as possible of the elements of nutrition.
Wheat, the substance from which bread is most generally made, contains
all the necessary food elements in proper proportions to meet the
requirements of nutrition, and bread should also contain them. The
flour, however, must be made from the whole grain of the wheat, with the
exception of the outer husk.
What is ordinarily termed fine flour has a large part of the most
nutritive properties of the grain left out, and unless this deficiency
is made up by other foods, the use of bread made from such material will
leave the most vital tissues of the body poorly nourished, and tend to
produce innumerable bad results. People who eat bread made from fine
white flour naturally crave the food elements which have been eliminated
from the wheat, and are thus led to an excessive consumption of meat,
and the nerve-starvation and consequent irritability thus induced may
also lead to the use of alcoholic drinks. We believe that one of the
strongest barriers women could erect against the inroads of intemperance
would be to supply the tables of the land with good bread made from
flour of the entire wheat.
The superiority of bread made from the entire wheat or unbolted meal has
been attested by many notable examples in history. In England, under the
administration of William Pitt, there was for several years such a
scarcity of wheat that to make it hold out longer, a law was passed by
Parliament that the army should be supplied with bread made of unbolted
flour. This occasioned much murmuring on the part of the soldiers, but
nevertheless the health of the army improved so greatly as to be a
subject of surprise. The officers and the physicians at last publicly
declared that the soldiers had never before been so robust and healthy.
According to the eminent Prof. Liebig, whole-wheat bread contains 60 per
cent more of the phosphate or bone forming material than does meat, and
200 per cent more gluten than white bread. To the lack of these elements
in a food so generally used as white flour bread, is undoubtedly due the
great prevalence of early decaying teeth, rickets, and other bone
diseases. Indeed, so many are the evils attendant upon a continued use
of fine flour bread that we can in a great measure agree with a writer
of the last century who says, in a quaint essay still to be seen at the
British Museum, that "fine flour, spirituous liquors, and strong
ale-house beer are the foundations of almost all the poverty and all the
evils that affect the labouring part of mankind."
Bread made from the entire wheat is looked upon with far more favor than
formerly, and it is no longer necessary to use the crude products of the
grain for its manufacture, since modern invention has worked such a
revolution in milling processes that it is now possible to obtain a fine
flour containing all the nutritious elements of the grain. The old-time
millstone has been largely superceded by machinery with which the entire
grain may be reduced to fine flour without the loss of any of its
valuable properties. To be sure, the manufacture of fine white flour of
the old sort, is still continued, and doubtless will be continued so
long as color takes precedence over food value. The improved processes
of milling have, however, enabled the millers to utilize a much larger
proportion of the nutritious elements of the grain than formerly, and
still preserve that whiteness is so pleasing to many consumers. Although
it is true that there are brands of white flour which possess a large
percentage of the nutrient properties of the wheat, it is likewise true
that flour which contains _all_ the nutritive elements is _not_ white.
Of flours made from the entire grain there are essentially two different
varieties, that which is termed _unbolted wheat meal_ or _Graham_ flour,
and that called _wheat-berry, whole-wheat_, or _entire-wheat_ flour. The
principal difference between the two consists in the preliminary
treatment of the wheat kernel before reduction, Graham flour containing
more or less of the flinty bran, which is wholly innutritious and to a
sensitive stomach somewhat irritating. In the manufacture of _whole_ or
_entire_-wheat flour, the outer, flinty bran is first removed by special
machinery, and then the entire grain pulverized, by some of approved
method, to different grades of fineness. The absence of the indigestible
bran renders the entire-wheat flour superior in this respect to Graham,
though for many persons the latter is to preferred.
HOW TO SELECT FLOUR.--The first requisite in the making of good
bread is good flour. The quality of a brand of flour will of course
depend much upon the kind of grain from which it is prepared--whether
new or old, perfect, or deteriorated by rust, mold, or exposure, and
also upon the thoroughness with which it has been cleansed from dust,
chaff, and all foreign substances, as well as upon the method by which
it is ground. It is not possible to judge with regard to all these
particulars by the appearance of the flour, but in general, good flour
will be sweet, dry, and free from any sour or musty smell or taste. Take
up a handful, and if it falls from the hand light and elastic, it is
pretty sure to be good. If it will retain the imprint of the fingers
and falls and a compact mass or a damp, clammy, or sticky to the touch,
it is by no means the best. When and knead a little of it between the
fingers; if it works soft and sticky, it is poor. Good flour, when made
into dough, is elastic, and will retain its shape. This elastic property
of good flour is due to the gluten which it contains. The more gluten
and the stronger it is, the better the flour. The gluten of good flour
will swell to several times its original bulk, while that of poor flour
will not.
In buying white flour, do not select that which is pure white with a
bluish tinge, but that which is of a creamy, yellowish-white tint. While
the kinds of flour that contain the entire nutritive properties of the
wheat will necessarily be darker in color, we would caution the reader
not to suppose that because flour is dark in color it is for that reason
good, and rich in nutritive elements. There are many other causes from
which flour may be dark, such as the use of uncleansed or dark varieties
of wheat, and the large admixture of bran and other grains; many
unscrupulous millers and flour dealers make use of this fact to palm off
upon their unsuspecting customers an inferior article. Much of the
so-called Graham flour is nothing more than poor flour mixed with bran,
and is in every way inferior to good white flour. Fine flour or made
from the entire wheat may generally be distinguished from a spurious
article by taking a small portion into the mouth and chewing it. Raw
flour made from the entire grain has a sweet taste, and a rich, nutty
flavor the same as that experienced in chewing a whole grain of wheat,
and produces a goodly quantity of gum or gluten, while a spurious
article tastes flat and insipid like starch, or has a bitter, pungent
taste consequent upon the presence of impurities. This bitter taste is
noticeable in bread made from such flour. A given quantity of poor flour
will not make as much bread as the same quantity of good flour, so that
adulteration may also be detected in this way. Doubtless much of the
prejudice against the use of whole-wheat flour has arisen from the use
of a spurious article.
As it is not always possible to determine accurately without the aid of
chemistry and a microscope whether flour is genuine, the only safe way
is to purchase the product of reliable mills.
It is always best to obtain a small quantity of flour first, and put it
to the test of bread-making; then, if satisfactory, purchase that brand
so long as it proves good. It is true economy to buy a flour known to be
good even though it may cost more than some others. It is not wise to
purchase too large a quantity at once unless one has exceptionally good
facilities for storage, as flour is subject to many deteriorating
influences. It is estimated that a barrel of good flour contains
sufficient bread material to last one person one year; and from this
standard it can be easily estimated in what proportion it is best to
purchase.
TO KEEP FLOUR.--Flour should always be kept in a tight receptacle,
and in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place. It should not be allowed to
remain in close proximity to any substances of strong odor, as it very
readily absorbs odors and gaseous impurities. A damp atmosphere will
cause it to absorb moisture, and as a result the gluten will lose some
of its tenacity and become sticky, and bread made from the flour will be
coarser and inferior in quality. Flour which has absorbed dampness from
any cause should be sifted into a large tray, spread out thin and
exposed to the hot sun, or placed in a warming oven for a few hours.
DELETERIOUS ADULTERATIONS OF FLOUR.--Besides the fraud frequently
practiced of compounding whole-wheat flour from inferior mill products,
white flour is sometimes adulterated--more commonly, however, in
European countries that in this--with such substances as alum, ground
rice, plaster of Paris, and whiting. Alum is doubtless the most commonly
used of all these substances, for the reason that it gives the bread a
whiter color and causes the flour to absorb and retain a larger amount
of water than it would otherwise hold. This enables the user to make,
from an inferior brand of flour, bread which resembles that made from a
better quality. Such adulteration is exceedingly injurious, as are other
mineral substances used for a similar purpose.
The presence of alum in flour or bread may be detected in the following
way: Macerate a half slice of bread in three or four tablespoonfuls of
water; strain off the water, and add to it twenty drops of a strong
solution of logwood, made either from the fresh chips or the extract.
Then add a large teaspoonful of a strong solution of carbonate of
ammonium. If alum is present, the mixture will change from pink to
lavender blue.
The _Journal of Trade_ gives the following simple mode of testing for
this adulterant: "Persons can test the bread they buy for themselves, by
taking a piece of it and soaking it in water. Take this water and mix it
with an equal part of fresh milk, and if the bread contains alum, the
mixture will coagulate. If a better test is required, boil the mixture,
and it will form perfect clot."
Whiting can be detected by dipping the ends of the thumb and forefinger
in sweet oil and rubbing the flour between them. If whiting is present,
the flour will become sticky like putty, and remain white; whereas pure
flour, when so rubbed, becomes darker in color, but not sticky. Plaster
of Paris, chalk, and other alkaline adulterants may be detected by a few
drops of lemon juice: if either be present, effervescence will take
place.
CHEMISTRY OF BREAD-MAKING.--Good flour alone will not insure good
bread. As much depends upon its preparation as upon the selection of
material; for the very best of flour may be transformed into the poorest
of bread through improper or careless preparation. Good bread cannot be
produced at random. It is not the fruit of any luck or chance, but the
practical result of certain fixed laws and principles to which all may
conform.
The first step in the conversion of flour into bread is to incorporate
with it a given amount of fluid, by which each atom of flour is
surrounded with a thin film of moisture, in order to hydrate the starch,
to dissolve the sugar and albumen, and to develop the adhesiveness of
the gluten, thus binding the whole into one coherent mass termed
_dough_, a word from a verb meaning to wet or moisten. If nothing more
be done, and this simple form of dough be baked, the starch granules
will be ruptured by the heat and thus properly prepared for food; but
the moistening will have developed the glue-like property of the gluten
to the extent of firmly cementing the particles of flour together, so
that the mass will be hard and tough, and almost incapable of
mastication. If, however, the dough be thoroughly kneaded, rolled very
thin, made into small cakes, and then quickly baked with sufficient
heat, the result will be a brittle kind of bread termed unleavened
bread, which, although it requires a lengthy process of mastication, is
more wholesome and digestible than soft bread, which is likely to be
swallowed insufficiently insalivated.
The gluten of wheat flour, beside being adhesive, is likewise remarkably
elastic. This is the reason why wheat flour is much more easily made
into light bread than the product of other cereals which contain less or
a different quality of gluten. Now if while the atoms of flour are
supplied with moisture, they are likewise supplied with some form of
gaseous substance, the elastic walls of the gluten cells will become
distended, causing the dough to "rise," or grow in bulk, and at the same
time become light, or porous, in texture.
This making of bread light is usually accomplished by the introduction
of air into the dough, or by carbonic acid gas generated within the
mass, either before or during the baking, by a fermentative or chemical
process.
When air is the agency used, the gluten, by its glue-like properties,
catches and retains the air for a short period; and if heat is applied
before the air, which is lighter than the dough, rises and escapes, it
will expand, and in expanding distend the elastic glutinous mass,
causing it to puff up or rise. If the heat is sufficient to harden the
gluten quickly, so that the air cells throughout the whole mass become
firmly fixed before the air escapes, the result will be a light, porous
bread. If the heat is not sufficient, the air does not properly expand;
or if before a sufficient crust is formed to retain the air and form a
framework of support for the dough, the heat is lessened or withdrawn,
the air will escape, or contract to its former volume, allowing the
distended glutinous cell walls to collapse; in either case the bread
will be heavy.
If carbonic acid gas, generated within the dough by means of
fermentation or by the use of chemical substances, be the means used to
lighten the mass, the gluten by virtue of its tenacity holds the bubbles
of gas as they are generated, and prevents the large and small ones from
uniting, or from rising to the surface, as they seek to do, being
lighter than the dough. Being thus caught where they are generated, and
the proper conditions supplied to expand them, they swell or raise the
dough, which is then termed a loaf. (This word "loaf" is from the
Anglo-Saxon _hlifian_, to raise or lift up.) The structure is rendered
permanent by the application of heat in baking.
BREAD MADE LIGHT BY FERMENTATION.
For general use, the most convenient form of bread is usually considered
to be that made from wheat flour, raised or made light by some method of
fermentation, although in point of nutritive value and healthfulness, it
does not equal light, unfermented, or aerated bread made without the aid
of chemicals.
THE PROCESS OF FERMENTATION.--Fermentation is a process of
decomposition, and hence more or less destructive to the substances
subjected to its influence. When animal and vegetable substances
containing large amounts of nitrogenous elements are in a moist state
and exposed to air, they very soon undergo a change, the result of which
is decomposition or decay. This is occasioned by the action of germs,
which feed upon nitrogenous substances, as do the various species of
fungi. Meat, eggs, milk, and other foods rich in nitrogenous elements
can be preserved but a short time if exposed to the atmosphere. The
carbonaceous elements are different in this respect. When pure starch,
sugar, or fat is exposed to the air in a moistened state, they exhibit
the very little tendency to change or decay. Yet if placed in contact
with decomposing substances containing nitrogen, they soon begin to
change, and are themselves decomposed and destroyed. This communication
of the condition of change from one class of substances to another, is
termed fermentation. If a fermenting substance be added to a watery
solution containing sugar, the sugar will be changed or decomposed, and
two new substances, alcohol and carbonic acid gas, are produced.
The different stages of fermentation are noted scientifically as
alcoholic, acetous, and putrefactive. The first is the name given to the
change which takes place in the saccharine matter of the dough, which
results in the formation of alcohol and carbonic acid gas. This same
change takes place in the saccharine matter of fruits under the proper
with conditions of warmth, air, and moisture, and is utilized in the
production of wines and fermented liquors.
In bread-making, the alcohol and carbonic acid gas produced during the
fermentation, are formed from sugar,--that originally contained in the
flour and the additional quantity formed from starch during the
fermenting process. It is evident, therefore, that bread cannot be
fermented without some loss in natural sweetness and nutritive value,
and bread made after this method should be managed so as to deteriorate
the material as little as possible.
If this fermentation continues long enough, the acetous fermentation is
set up, and _acetic_ acid, the essential element of vinegar, is formed
and the dough becomes sour. If the process of fermentation is very much
prolonged, the putrefactive change is set up, and the gluten is more or
less decomposed.
If the dough be baked during the alcoholic and carbonic-acid stage of
fermentation, the gas will render the loaf light and porous. The alcohol
will be dissipated by the heat during the baking, or evaporated shortly
afterward, provided the baking be thorough. If the fermentation is
allowed to proceed until the acetous fermentation has begun, the loaf,
when baked, will be "sad" and heavy, since there is no longer any gas to
puff it up. If, however, during the first or alcoholic stage of
fermentation, new material be added, the same kind of fermentation will
continue for a certain period longer.
These facts serve to show that great care and attention are necessary to
produce good bread by a fermentative process. If the fermentation has
not been allowed to proceed far enough to generate a sufficient amount
of gas to permeate the whole mass, the result will be a heavy loaf; and
if allowed to proceed too far, acid fermentation begins, the gas
escapes, and we have sour as well as heavy bread. It is not enough,
however, to prevent bread from reaching the acetous or sour stage of
fermentation. Bread may be over-fermented when there is no appreciable
sourness developed. Fermentation may be carried so far as to destroy
much of the richness and sweetness of the loaf, and yet be arrested by
the baking process just before the acetous stage begins, so that it will
be light and porous, but decidedly lacking in flavor and substance.
Over-fermentation also develops in the bread various bitter substances
which obscure the natural sweetness of the bread and give to it an
unpleasant flavor. Many of these substances are more or less harmful in
character, and include many poisons known as ptomaines, a class of
chemical compounds produced by germs whenever fermentation or
decomposition of organic matter takes place. Much skill is required to
determine at what point to arrest the fermentation, in order to save the
sweetness and richness of the bread.
FERMENTATIVE AGENTS.--Fermentation in vegetable matter is always
accompanied by the growth of living organisms. The development of these
minute organisms is the exciting cause of fermentation and putrefaction.
The germs or spores of some of these fermenting agents are always
present in the air. It is well known to housekeepers that if a batter
of flour and water and a little salt be kept in a jar of water at a
temperature of from 100 deg. to 110 deg., it will ferment in the course
of five or six hours. Scientists assure us that this fermentation is
occasioned by the introduction of the spores of certain species of
fungi which are continually floating in the atmosphere, and the proper
conditions of warmth and moisture being supplied, they at once begin to
grow and multiply. This method of securing fermentation is utilized by
housewives in making what is termed salt-rising bread. The raising of
dough by this process is lengthy and uncertain, and a far more convenient
method is to accelerate the fermentation by the addition of some active
ferment. The ancient method of accomplishing this was by adding to the
dough a leaven, a portion of old dough which had been kept until it had
begun to ferment; but since the investigations of modern chemistry have
made clear the properties of yeast, that has come to be considered the
best agent for setting up the process of alcoholic fermentation in bread.
The use of leaven is still practiced to somewhat in some European
countries. The bread produced with leaven, although light and spongy in
texture, has an unpleasant, sour taste, and is much less wholesome than
that produced with fresh yeast.
Yeast is a collection of living organisms or plants belonging to the
family of fungi, which, like all other plants, require warmth, moisture,
and food, in order to promote growth, and when properly supplied with
these, they begin to grow and multiply rapidly. Fermentation will not
take place at a temperature below 30 deg., it proceeds slowly at 45 deg.,
but from 70 deg. to 90 deg. it goes on rapidly. Fermentation may be
arrested by the exhaustion of either the fermenting agent or the food
supply, or by exposure to heat at the temperature of boiling water. This
latter fact enables the housewife to arrest the process of fermentation,
when the loaf has become sufficiently light, by baking it in a hot oven.
Heat destroys most of the yeast cells; a few, however, remain in the loaf
unchanged, and it is for this reason that yeast bread is considered less
wholesome for dyspeptics than light unleavened bread. It is apparent,
then, that the more thoroughly fermented bread is baked, the more
wholesome it will be, from the more complete destruction of the yeast
germs which it contains.
YEAST.--Next to good flour, the most important requisite in the
manufacture of fermented bread is good yeast. The best of flour used in
conjunction with poor yeast will not produce good bread. The most
convenient and reliable kind of marketable yeast, when fresh, is the
compressed yeast. The dry though they are always ready for use, the
quality of the bread they produce is generally inferior to that made
with either compressed yeast or good liquid yeast. If this sort of yeast
must be depended upon, the cakes known as "Yeast Foam" are the best of
any with which we are acquainted.
Of homemade yeasts there are almost as many varieties as there are
cooks. Their comparative value depends mainly upon the length of time
they will keep good, or the facility with which they can be prepared.
Essentially the same principles are involved in the making of them all;
viz., the introduction of a small quantity of fresh, lively yeast into a
mixture of some form of starch (obtained from flour, potato, or a
combination of both) and water, with or without the addition of such
other substances as will promote fermentation, or aid in preventing the
yeast from souring. Under proper conditions of warmth, the small amount
of original yeast begins to supply itself with food at once by
converting the starch into dextrine, and then into grape sugar, and
multiplies itself with great rapidity, and will continue to do so as
long as there is material to supply it with the means of growth. While
its growth is rapid, its decay is equally so; and unless some means of
preservation be employed, the yeast will die, and the mixture become
sour and foul. Ordinarily it can be kept good for several days, and
under the best conditions, even three or four weeks. After it has been
kept from four to six hours, it should be placed in some receptacle as
nearly air-tight as possible and set in the cellar or refrigerator,
where it can be kept at a temperature not conducive to fermentation.
Thus the little yeast organisms will remain in a quiescent state, but
yet alive and capable of multiplying themselves when again surrounded
with favorable conditions.
The yeast should be kept in glass or glazed earthen ware. The vessel
containing it should be washed and scalded with scrupulous care before
new yeast is put in, since the smallest particle of sour or spoiled
yeast will ruin the fresh supply in a very short time. It is generally
conceded that yeast will keep longer if the material of which it is made
be mixed with liquid of a boiling temperature, or cooked for a few
minutes at boiling heat before adding the yeast. The reason for this
undoubtedly lies in the fact that the boiling kills foreign germs, and
thus prevents early souring or putrefaction. The yeast must not be
added, however, until the liquid has cooled to a little more than blood
heat, as too great heat will kill the yeast cells.
The starch of the potato is thought to furnish better material for the
promotion of yeast growth than that of wheat flour; but whether the
potato be first cooked, mashed, and then combined with the other
ingredients, or grated raw and then cooked in boiling water, makes
little difference so far as results are concerned, though the latter
method may have the advantage of taking less time. If potatoes are used
for this purpose, they should be perfectly mature. New ones will not
answer.
Sugar assists in promoting the growth of the yeast plant, and a small
amount is usually employed in making yeast. Hops serve to prevent the
yeast from souring, and an infusion of them is frequently used for this
purpose.
While it is essential that the water used should be boiling, it is also
necessary that the mixture should cooled to a lukewarm temperature
before the introduction of the original yeast, as intense heat will kill
the yeast plant. Freezing cold will likewise produced the same result.
While a cool temperature is one of the requisites for keeping yeast
fresh, care must be taken, especially in winter, that it does not get
chilled.
When yeast is needed for bread, it is always the best plan to take a cup
to the cellar or refrigerator for the desired quantity, and re-cover the
jar as quickly as possible. A half hour in a hot kitchen would be quite
likely to spoiled it. Always shake or stir the whole well before
measuring out the yeast. In making yeast, used earthen bowls for mixing,
porcelain-lined or granite-ware utensils for boiling, and silver or
wooden spoons for stirring.
BITTER YEAST.--It sometimes happens that an excessive use of hops
in the making of yeast gives to it so bitter a flavor as to communicate
a disagreeable taste to the bread. To correct this bitterness, mix with
the yeast a considerable quantity of water, and let it stand for some
hours, when the thickest portion will have settled at the bottom. The
water, which will have extracted much of the bitterness, can then be
turned off and thrown away. Yeast also sometimes becomes a bitter from
long keeping. Freshly burnt charcoal thrown into the yeast is said to
absorb the odors and offensive matter and render the yeast more sweet;
however, we do not recommend the use of any yeast so stale as to need
sweetening or purifying. Yeast that is new and fresh is always best; old
and stale yeast, even though it may still possess the property of
raising the dough, will give an unpleasant taste to the bread, and is
much less wholesome.
TESTS FOR YEAST.--Liquid yeast, when good, is light in color and
looks foamy and effervescent; it has a pungent odor somewhat similar to
weak ammonia, and if tasted will have a sharp, biting flavor. Yeast is
poor when it looks dull and watery, and has a sour odor. Compressed
yeast, if good, breaks off dry and looks white; if poor, it appears
moist and stringy.
If there is any question as to the quality of yeast, it is always best
to test it before use by adding a little flour to a small quantity and
setting it in a warm place. If it begins to ferment in the course of
fifteen or twenty minutes, it is good.
STARTING THE BREAD.--Having secured good yeast, it is necessary in
some way to diffuse it through the bread material so that it will set up
an active fermentation, which, by the evolution of gas, will render the
whole mass light and porous. As fermentation is more sure, more rapid,
and requires less yeast to start it when set in action in a thin mixture
than when introduced into stiff dough, the more common method of
starting fermented bread is by "setting a sponge;" viz., preparing a
batter of flour and liquid, to which potato is sometimes added, and into
which the yeast is introduced. Some cooks, in making the batter, use
the whole amount of liquid needed for the bread, and as the sponge
rises, add flour in small quantities, beating it back, and allowing it
to rise a second, third, or even fourth time, until sufficient flour has
been added to knead; others use only half the liquid in preparing the
sponge, and when it has well risen, prepare a second one by adding the
remainder of the liquid and fresh flour, in which case the fermented
batter acts as a double portion of yeast and raises the second sponge
very quickly. The requisite amount of flour is then added, the dough
kneaded, and the whole allowed to rise a third time in the loaf. Other
cooks dispense altogether with the sponge, adding to the liquid at first
the requisite amount of flour, kneading it thoroughly and allowing it to
rise once in mass and again after molding into loaves. As to the
superiority of one method over another, much depends upon their
adaptability to the time and convenience of the user; light bread can be
produced by either method. Less yeast but more time will be required
when the bread is started with a sponge. The end to be attained by all
is a complete and equal diffusion of gas bubbles generated during
fermentation throughout the whole mass of dough.
The preferable method of combining the materials needed for the batter
is by first mingling the yeast with the water or milk. If condensed or
dry yeast is used, previously dissolve it well in a half cupful or less
of lukewarm water. Stir the flour slowly into the liquid mixture and
beat it _very thoroughly_ so that the yeast shall be evenly distributed
throughout the whole.
PROPORTION OF MATERIALS NEEDED.--The material needed for making:
the bread should all be carefully measured out beforehand and the flour
well sifted. Many housekeepers fail in producing good bread, because
they guess at the quantity of material to be used, particularly the
flour, and with the same quantity of liquid will one time use much more
flour that at another, thus making the results exceedingly variable.
With this same brand of flour, this same quantity should always be used
to produce a given amount of bread. This amount will depend upon the
quality of the material used. Good flour will absorb a larger quantity
of liquids than that of an inferior quality, and the amount of liquid a
given quantity of flour will take up determines the quantity of bread
that can be produced from it. This amount is chiefly dependent upon the
proportion of gluten contained in the flour. One hundred pounds of good
flour will absorb sufficient water to produce one hundred and fifty
pounds of bread. One reason why bread retains so much water is that
during the baking a portion of starch is converted into gum, which holds
water more strongly than starch. Again: the gluten, when wet, is not
easily dried, while the dry crust which forms around the bread in baking
is merely impervious to water, and, like the skin of a baking potato,
prevents the moisture from escaping.
Kinds of flour vary so considerably in respect to their absorbent
properties that it is not possible to state the exact proportions of
flour and liquid required; approximately, three heaping measures of
flour for one scant measure of liquid, including the yeast, will in
general be found a good proportion. Bread made from the entire wheat
will require from one half to one cupful less flour than that made of
white flour. A quart of liquid, including the yeast, is sufficient for
three ordinary-sized loaves. One half or two thirds of a cup of homemade
yeast, according to its strength, or one half a cake of compressed yeast
dissolved in a half cup of lukewarm water, will be sufficient for one
quart of liquid. It is a common mistake to use too much yeast. It
lessens the time required, but the result is less satisfactory. Bread to
be set over night requires less yeast.
Whether water or milk should be used for bread-making, depends upon
taste and convenience. Bread retains more nearly the natural flavor of
the grain if made with water, and is less apt to sour; at the same time,
bread made with milk is more tender than that made with water. Bread
made with milk requires from one half to one cupful less of flour.
Potatoes are sometimes used in conjunction with flour for bread-making.
They are by no means necessary when good flour is used, but bread made
from inferior flour is improved by their use. Only potatoes that are
fully matured should be used for this purpose, and they should be well
cooked and smoothly mashed. Neither sugar nor salt is essential for the
production of good bread, though most cook books recommend the use of
one or both. The proportion of the former should not exceed one even
tablespoonful to three pints of flour, and the very smallest amount of
salt, never more than a half teaspoonful, and better less. No butter or
other free fat is required; the tenderness of texture produced by its
use can be secured as well by the use of unskimmed milk and thorough
kneading.
UTENSILS.--For bread-making purposes, earthen or china ware is
preferable to either tin or wooden utensils: being a poor conductor, it
protects the sponge from the cold air much more effectually than tin,
and is much more easily kept clean and sweet than wood. The utensil
should be kept exclusively for the purpose of bread-making, and should
never be allowed to contain any sour substance. The bowl should be
thoroughly scalded before and after each using. Use silver or
granite-ware spoons for stirring the bread. Iron and tin discolor the
sponge. For measuring the material, particularly the liquid and the
yeast, half-pint cups, divided by marks into thirds and fourths, as
shown in the cut, are especially serviceable.
[Illustration: Measuring Cup] [Illustration: Measuring Cup]
WHEN TO SET THE SPONGE.--The time to set the sponge for
bread-making is a point each housekeeper must determine for herself. The
fact before stated, that temperature controls the activity of
fermentation, and that it is retarded or accelerated according to the
conditions of warmth, enables the housewife, by keeping the
bread-mixture at a temperature of about 50 deg. F., to set her bread in the
evening, if desired, and find it light and ready for further attention
in the morning. In winter, the sponge will need to be prepared early in
the evening and kept during the night at as even a temperature as
possible. A good way to accomplish this is to cover the bowl with a
clean napkin and afterwards wrap it about very closely with several
folds of a woolen blanket. In extremely cold weather bottles of hot
water may be placed around the bowl outside the wrappings. In case this
plan is employed, care must be taken to have sufficient wrappings
between the bread and the bottles to prevent undue heat, and the bottles
should be covered with an additional blanket to aid in retaining the
heat as long as possible.
If the sponge is set in the evening, if in very warm weather, it should
be started as late as practicable, and left in a rather cool place.
Cover closely to exclude the air, but do not wrap in flannel as in
winter. It will be likely to need attention early in the morning.
TEMPERATURE FOR BREAD-MAKING.--Except in very warm weather, the
ferment or sponge should be started with liquid at a lukewarm
temperature.
The liquid should never be so cold as to chill the yeast. Milk, if used,
should be first sterilized by scalding, and then cooled before using.
After the sponge is prepared, the greatest care must be taken to keep it
at an equable temperature. From 70 deg. to 90 deg. is the best range of
temperature, 75 deg. being considered the golden mean throughout the
entire fermentative process of bread-making.
After fermentation has well begun, it will continue, but much more
slowly if the temperature be gradually lowered to 45 deg. or 50 deg. If
it is necessary to hasten the rising, the temperature can be raised to
80 deg. or 85 deg., but it will necessitate careful watching, as it will
be liable to over-ferment, and become sour. Cold arrests the process of
fermentation, while too great heat carries forward the work too rapidly.
Too much stress cannot be laid upon the importance of an equable
temperature. The housewife who permits the fermentation to proceed very
slowly one hour, forces it rapidly by increased heat the next, and
perhaps allows it to subside to a chilling temperature the third, will
never be sure of good bread.
Putting the bowl containing the sponge into a dish of warm (not hot)
water, or keeping it in the warming oven, or on the back of the range,
are all methods which may bring about good results, provided the same
degree of heat can be maintained continuously; but if the fire is one
which must be increased or diminished to suit the exigencies of
household details, nothing but the closest and most careful attention
will keep the sponge at uniform temperature. The better way is to cover
the bowl with a napkin, and in cold weather wrap closely in several
thicknesses of flannel, and place on a stand behind the stove, or in
some place not exposed to draughts. A bread-raiser purposely arranged
for keeping the bread at proper temperature is a great convenience. Two
small and rather thick earthen ware crocks of the same size, serve very
well for this purpose. Scald both with hot water, and while still warm,
put the sponge in one, invert the other for a cover, and leave in a warm
room. All flour used in the bread should be warm when added.
LIGHTNESS OF THE BREAD.--The time required for bread in its
different stages to grow light will vary according to the quantity and
strength of the yeast used and the amount of warmth supplied. A thin
batter is light enough when in appearance it resembles throughout a mass
of sea foam. It will not greatly increase in bulk, but will be in the
state of constant activity, sending up little bubbles of gas and
emitting a sharp, pungent odor like fresh yeast.
When the thicker batter or second sponge is sufficiently light, it will
have risen to nearly double its original bulk and become cracked over
the top like "crazed" china. It should never be allowed to rise to the
point of sinking or caving in, and should be kneaded as soon as ready.
If for any reason it is not possible to knead the bread at once when it
has arrived at this stage, do not allow it to stand, but take a knife or
spoon and gently beat it back a little. This dissipates some of the gas
and reduces the volume somewhat. Let it rise again, which it will do in
a short time, if it has not been allowed to become too light. If dough
that has been kneaded and allowed to rise in mass, becomes sufficiently
light at some inopportune moment for shaping into loaves, it may be kept
from becoming too light and souring, by taking a knife and cutting it
away from the sides of the bowl and gradually working it over toward the
center. Re-cover and put in a warm place. It will soon assume its former
bulk. This "cutting down" may be repeated several times if necessary,
provided the bread has not been allowed to become too light at any time,
and some cook's recommend it as a uniform practice. We do not, however,
except in case of necessity; since, though it may possibly make the
bread more light, the long-continued fermentation destroys more than is
necessary of the food elements of the flour, and develops an unnecessary
amount of the products of fermentation. Lightness is not the only
requisite for bread, and should be secured with as little deterioration
of the flour as possible.
An important point in the preparation of bread is to decide when it is
sufficiently light after having been molded and placed in pans. The
length of time cannot be given, because it will vary with the
temperature, the quality of the flour, and the quantity added during the
kneading. At a temperature of 75 deg., an hour or an hour and a half is
about the average length of time needed. A loaf should nearly double its
size after being placed in a pan, before baking; when perfectly risen,
the bread feels light when lifted and weighed upon the hand. It is
better to begin the baking before it has perfectly risen them to wait
until it has become so light as to commence to fall, since if the
fermentation proceeds too far, the sweetness of the grain will be
destroyed, and the bread will be tasteless and innutritious, even if it
does not reach the acetous stage.
The exercise of a little judgment and careful attention to detail will
soon enable a person successfully to determine the proper degree of
lightness of bread in its various stages. Bread which passes the extreme
point of fermentation, or in common phrase gets "too light," will have a
strong acid odor, and will pull away from the bowl in a stringy mass,
having a watery appearance very different from the fine, spongy texture
of properly risen dough. The acidity of such dough may be neutralized by
the addition of an alkali, and housewives who through carelessness and
inattention have allowed their bread to become "sour," often resort to
saleratus or soda to neutralize the acid. The result of such treatment
is unwholesome bread, wholly unfit for food. It is better economy to
throw away bread material which needs to be sweetened with soda than to
run the risk of injury to health by using it.
KNEADING THE DOUGH.--As fresh flour is added during the
bread-making, it is necessary to mix it in thoroughly. As long as the
batter is thin, this can be done by thoroughly beating the mixture with
the addition of material; but when it is a thick dough, some other
method must be adopted to bring about the desired result. The usual way
is by mixing the dough to a proper consistency, and working it with the
hands. This is termed _kneading_. Much of the excellence of bread
depends upon the thoroughness of this kneading, since if the yeast is
not intimately and equally mixed with every particle of flour, the bread
will not be uniform; some portions will be heavy and compact, while
others will be full of large, open cavities, from the excessive
liberation of gas.
The length of time required for kneading depends upon the perfection
with which the yeast cells have been previously diffused throughout the
sponge, and upon the quality of the flour used in preparing the bread,
much less time being required for kneading dough made from good flour.
Some consider an hour none too long to knead bread. Such a lengthy
process may be advantageous, since one of the objects of kneading is to
render the glutinous parts of the flour so elastic that the dough may be
capable of expanding to several times its bulk without cracking or
breaking, but excellent results can be obtained from good flour with
less labor. Bread has been kneaded all that is necessary when it will
work clean of the board, and when, after a smart blow with the fist in
the center of the mass, it will spring back to its original shape like
an India rubber ball. Its elasticity is the surest test of its goodness;
and when dough has been thus perfectly kneaded, it can be molded into
any shape, rolled, twisted, or braided with ease. Chopping, cutting,
stretching, and pulling--the dough are other methods for accomplishing
the same end.
If a large mass is to be kneaded, it is better to divide it into several
portions and knead each separately. It is less laborious and more likely
to result in an equal diffusion of the yeast. Bread is often spoiled by
the addition of too much flour during kneading. Dough should always be
kneaded as soft as it can be handled, and only sufficient flour added to
prevent its sticking to the board. Stiff bread is close in texture, and
after a day or two becomes dry and hard.
HOW TO MANIPULATE THE DOUGH IN KNEADING.--Sprinkle the board well
with flour, and scrape the dough from the bowl with a knife. Dust the
hands with flour, and then draw the dough with a rolling motion from the
farthest side toward you, using the finger tips for the purpose, but
pressing firmly down upon the mass with the palm of the hands. Reach
forward again with the finger tips, and again press the ball of the
hands upon the dough. Continue this process of manipulation until the
mass is very much elongated; then turn at right angles and repeat the
process, taking care that the finger tips do not break through the light
film which will form upon the outside of soft dough when well managed.
_Keep the dough constantly in motion_ until it is smooth, elastic, and
fine-grained. The hands and the board may need a light dusting of flour
at frequent intervals. If the dough sticks, lift it quickly, and clean
the board, that it may be kept smooth. The dough will not stick if kept
in constant motion. Do not rub off little wads of dough either from the
hands or the board and keep kneading them into the loaf; they will
seriously injure the uniform texture of the bread.
HOW MANY TIMES SHALL BREAD BE KNEADED?--As the objects to be
attained in kneading dough are to render the gluten more elastic and
thoroughly to diffuse the yeast, it will be seen that there has been
sufficient kneading when all the flour necessary for the bread has been
added. Furthermore, it must be apparent that continued manipulation of
the dough at this stage will dissipate and press out the little vesicles
of gas held in place by the elastic gluten, and thus lose in part what
so much pains has been taken to secure. At whatever stage the requisite
amount of flour be added, the dough should then be thoroughly kneaded
once for all. If allowed to rise in bulk, when light it should be shaped
into loaves with the greatest care, handled lightly, and worked as
little as possible, and if at all diminished, allowed to rise again
before baking.
DRYNESS OF THE SURFACE.--Bread in all stages should be covered over
the top, since it rises much more evenly, and does not have a stiff,
dried surface, as when placed in a warm place exposed to air. It
sometimes happens that this precaution is forgotten or not sufficiently
attended to, and a dry crust forms and over the dough, which, if kneaded
into the loaves, leaves hard, dry spots in the bread. In case of such a
mishap, take the dry crust off, dissolve it in a little warm water, add
flour enough to mold, make it into a small loaf, and raise it
separately.
SIZE OF LOAVES.--The lightness of the bread after baking depends
upon the perfection with which the little air-cells, formed during the
fermenting process, have become fixed by the heat during the baking. The
heat expands the carbonic acid gas contained within the open spaces in
the dough, and at the same time checks further development of gas by
destroying the yeast plant. The sooner, then, that the cells can be made
permanent after the arrest of fermentation, the more light and porous
the bread will be. Although this fixing of the cells is largely
dependent upon the degree of heat maintained, it likewise in a measure
depends upon the size of the loaf, as the heat will penetrate and fix
the cells of a small loaf throughout much sooner than, those of a large
one. Therefore, bake in small loaves, and have a separate pan for each,
as that admits of an equal degree of heat to all sides. This aids in a
more rapid fixing of the air-cells and likewise gives more crust, which
is the sweetest and most digestible part of the bread.
Sheet-iron pans, about eight inches in length, four in width, and five
in depth, are the most satisfactory. After the dough is molded, divide
it into loaves which will fill such pans to the depth of two inches. Let
them rise until double their first volume, and then put them in the
oven. In baking, the loaves will rise still higher, and if about five
inches high when done, will have expanded to about the right
proportions.
[Illustration: Bread Pan]
PROPER TEMPERATURE OF THE OVEN.--The objects to be attained in the
baking of bread are to break up the starch and gluten cells of the Sour
so as to make them easily digestible, to destroy the yeast plant, and
render permanent the cells formed by the action of the carbonic acid
gas. To accomplish well these ends, the loaf must be surrounded by a
temperature ranging from 400 deg. to 600 deg. The oven should be one in
which the heat is equal in all parts, and which can be kept at a steady,
uniform heat. Old-fashioned brick ovens were superior in this respect to
most modern ranges. The fire for baking bread should be of sufficient
strength to keep the oven heated for at least an hour. If the oven has
tendency to become too hot upon the bottom, a thin, open grate, broiler,
or toasting rack, should be placed underneath the tins to allow a
circulation of air and avoid danger of burning. If the heat be
insufficient, fermentation will not cease until the bread has become
sour; the cells will be imperfectly fixed or entirely collapsed; too
little of the moisture will have evaporated, and the result will be a
soft, wet, and pasty or sour loaf. If the heat be too great, the bread
will be baked before it has perfectly risen, or a thick, burned crust
will be produced, forming a non-conducting covering to the loaf, which
will prevent the heat from permeating the interior, and thus the loaf
will have an overdone exterior, but will be raw and doughy within. If,
however, the temperature of the oven be just right, the loaf will
continue for a little time to enlarge, owing to the expansion of the
carbonic acid gas, the conversion of the water into steam, and the
vaporizing of the alcohol, which rises in a gaseous form and is driven
off by the heat; a nicely browned crust will be formed over the surface,
the result of the rapid evaporation of water from the surface and
consequent consolidation of the dough of this portion of the loaf, and a
chemical change caused by the action of the heat upon the starch by
which is converted into dextrine, finally assuming a brown color due to
the production of a substance known to the chemist as _assama_.
Bread is often spoiled in the baking. The dough may be made of the best
of flour and yeast, mixed and kneaded in the most perfect manner, and
may have risen to the proper degree of lightness' before going to the
oven, yet if the oven is either too hot or not hot enough, the bread
will be of an inferior quality.
Without an oven thermometer, there is no accurate means of determining
the temperature of the oven; but housekeepers resort to various means to
form a judgment about it. The baker's old-fashioned method is to throw a
handful of flour on the oven bottom. If it blackens without igniting,
the heat is deemed sufficient. Since the object for which the heat is
desired is to cook the flour, not to burn it, it might be supposed that
this would indicate too high a temperature; but the flour within the
loaf to be baked is combined with a certain amount of moisture, the
evaporation of which lowers the temperature of the bread considerably
below that of the surrounding heated atmosphere. The temperature of the
inner portion of the loaf cannot exceed 212 deg. so long as it continues
moist. Bread might be perfectly cooked at this temperature by steam, but
it would lack that most digestible portion of the loaf, the crust.
A common way of ascertaining if the heat of the oven is sufficient, is
to hold the bare arm inside it for a few seconds. If the arm cannot be
held within while thirty is counted, it is too hot to begin with. The
following test is more accurate: For rolls, the oven should be hot
enough to brown a teaspoonful of flour in _one_ minute, and for loaves
in _five_ minutes.
The temperature should be high enough to arrest the fermentation, which
it will do at a point considerably below the boiling point of water, and
at the same time to form a shell or crust, which will so support the
dough as to prevent it from sinking or collapsing when the evolution of
carbonic acid gas shall cease; but it should not be hot enough to brown
the crust within ten or fifteen minutes. The heat should increase for
the first fifteen minutes, remain steady for the next fifteen minutes,
and may then gradually decrease during the remainder of the baking. If
by any mischance the oven be so hot as to brown the crust too soon,
cover the loaf with a clean paper for a few minutes. Be careful that no
draught reaches the bread while baking; open the oven door very seldom,
and not at all for the first ten minutes. If it is necessary to turn the
loaf, try to do so without bringing it to the air. From three fourths of
an hour to an hour is usually a sufficient length of time to bake an
ordinary sized loaf. Be careful not to remove the bread from the oven
until perfectly done. It is better to allow it to bake ten minutes too
long than not long enough. The crust of bread, when done, should be
equally browned all over.
The common test for well-baked bread is to tap it on the bottom with the
finger; if it is light and well done, it will sound hollow; heavy bread
will have a dull sound. A thoroughly baked loaf will not burn the hand
when lifted upon it from the pan.
CARE OF BREAD AFTER BAKING.--When done, remove the loaves from the
tins, and tilt them upon edge so that the air may circulate freely on
all sides of them to prevent "sweating." Do not, however, lay them on a
pine shelf or table to absorb the odor of the wood. A large tin dripping
pan turned over upon the table does very well to tilt them on. If they
are turned often, so that they will not soften on one side, but a fine
wire bread cooler is the best thing. If this is not obtainable, a fair
substitute can be easily improvised by tacking window-screen wire to a
light frame of sufficient size to hold the requisite number of loaves.
If the bread is left exposed to the air until cold, the crust will be
crisp; if a soft crust is desired, it can be secured by brushing the top
of the loaf while hot, with tepid water, and covering with several
thicknesses of a clean bread cloth.
If by accident any portion of the crust is burnt, grate it away as soon
as cold; this is preferable to cutting or clipping it off.
BEST METHOD OF KEEPING BREAD.--When the bread is quite cold, put it
away in a bread box, which should be of tin, or of wood lined with tin,
convenient in form and supplied with a well-fitting cover. Never use an
unlined wooden box of any kind, as it cannot easily be kept fresh and
free from musty odors, which bread so readily absorbs.
Stone and earthen ware are not open to this objection, but they are
likely to collect moisture, and hence are not equal to a tin receptacle.
Do not keep bread in the cellar or any other damp place, nor in a close
closet, where there are other foods from which it can absorb odors. The
bread box should be kept well covered, and free from crumbs and stale
bits. It should be carefully washed in boiling soapsuds, scalded, and
dried, every two or three days. If cloths are used to wrap or cover the
bread, they too should be washed and scalded every week, and oftener if
at any time the loaf about which they are wrapped becomes moldy or
musty.
TEST OF GOOD FERMENTED BREAD.--A loaf of good bread, well risen and
perfectly baked, may be taken in the hands, and, with the thumb on the
top crust and fingers upon the bottom of the loaf, pressed to less than
half its thickness, and when the pressure is removed, it will
immediately expand like a sponge, to its former proportions.
Good yeast bread, while it should be firm and preserve a certain amount
of moisture, will, when cold, crumble easily when rubbed between the
fingers. If, instead, it forms a close, soggy mass, it may be regarded
as indigestible. This is one reason why hot, new yeast bread and biscuit
are so indigestible. In demonstration of this, take a small lump of new
bread, gently roll it into a ball, and put into a glass of water, adding
a similar quantity of stale bread of the same kind also. The latter will
crumble away very soon, while the former will retain its form for hours,
reminding one of its condition in the stomach, "as hard as a bullet,"
for a long time resisting the action of the gastric juice, although,
meanwhile, the yeast germs which have not been killed in the oven are
converting the mass into a lump of yeast, by which the whole contents of
the stomach are soured. A soluble article like salt or sugar in fine
powdered form is much more easily and quickly dissolved than the same
article in solid lumps, and so it is with food. The apparent dryness of
stale bread is not caused by its loss of moisture; for if carefully
weighed, stale bread will be found to contain almost exactly the same
proportion of water as new bread that has become cold. The moisture has
only passed into a state of concealment, as may be demonstrated by
subjecting a stale loaf inclosed in a tightly-sealed receptacle to a
temperature equal to boiling heat in an oven for half an hour, when it
will again have the appearance of new bread.
Hot bread eaten with butter is still more unwholesome, for the reason
that the melted grease fills up the pores of the bread, and further
interferes with the action of the digestive fluids.
WHOLE-WHEAT AND GRAHAM BREADS.--The same general principles are
involved in the making of bread with whole-wheat and Graham flours as in
the production of bread from white flour. Good material and good care
are absolutely essential.
Whole-wheat flour ferments more readily and rises more quickly than does
white flour, hence bread made with it needs more careful management, as
it is more liable to sour. The novice in bread-making should not
undertake the preparation of bread with whole-wheat flour, until she has
thoroughly mastered all the details of the art by practical experience,
and can produce a perfect loaf from white flour.
Breads from whole-wheat and Graham flours require less yeast and less
flour than bread prepared from white flour. A slower process of
fermentation is also advantageous.
Such breads will be lighter if at least one third white flour be
employed in their manufacture. When the bread is made with a sponge,
this white flour may be utilised for the purpose. Thus the length of
time the whole-wheat flour will be undergoing fermentation will be
somewhat lessened, and its liability to become sour diminished. This
plan is a preferable one for beginners in bread-making.
Graham and whole-wheat flour breads must be kneaded longer than
white-flour bread, and require a hotter oven at first and a longer time
for baking. Much Graham and whole-wheat bread is served insufficiently
baked, probably owing to the fact that, being dark in color, the crust
appears brown very soon, thus deluding the cook into supposing that the
loaf is well baked. For thorough baking, from one to one and a half
hours are needed, according to the size of the loaf and the heat of the
oven.
TOAST.--Toasting, if properly done, renders bread more digestible,
the starch being converted into dextrine by the toasting process; but by
the ordinary method of preparing toast, that of simply browning each
side, only the surfaces of the slices are really toasted, while the
action of the heat upon the interior of the slice, it is rendered
exactly in the condition of new bread, and consequently quite as
indigestible. If butter is added while the toast is hot, we have all the
dyspepsia-producing elements of new bread and butter combined. Although
considered to be the dish _par excellence_ for invalids, nothing could
be more unwholesome than such toast. To properly toast the bread, the
drying and browning should extend throughout the entire thickness of the
slice. Bread may be thus toasted before an open fire, but the process
would be such a lengthy and troublesome one, it is far better to secure
the same results by browning the bread in a moderate oven.
Such toast is sometimes called _zwieback_ (twice baked), and when
prepared from good whole-wheat bread, is one of the most nourishing and
digestible of foods. Directions for its preparation and use will be
found in the chapter on "Breakfast Dishes."
STEAMED BREAD.--Steaming stale bread is as open to objection as the
surface toasting of bread, if steamed so as to be yielding and adhesive.
It is not, perhaps, as unwholesome as new bread, but bread is best eaten
in a condition dry and hard enough to require chewing, that its starch
may be so changed by the action of the saliva as to be easily digested.
LIQUID YEAST.
_RECIPES._
RAW POTATO YEAST.--Mix one fourth of a cup of flour, the same of
white sugar, and a teaspoonful of salt to a paste with a little water.
Pare three medium-size, fresh, and sound potatoes, and grate them as
rapidly as possible into the paste; mix all quickly together with a
silver spoon, then pour three pints of boiling water slowly over the
mixture, stirring well at the same time. If this does not rupture the
starch cells of the flour and potatoes so that the mixture becomes
thickened to the consistency of starch, turn it into a granite-ware
kettle and boil up for a minute, stirring well to keep it from sticking
and burning. If it becomes too much thickened, add a little more boiling
water. It is impossible to give the exact amount of water, since the
quality of the flour will vary, and likewise the size of the potatoes;
but three pints is an approximate proportion. Strain the mixture through
a fine colander into an earthen bread bowl, and let it cool. When
lukewarm, add one cup of good, lively yeast. Cover with a napkin, and
keep in a moderately warm place for several hours, or until it ceases to
ferment. As it begins to ferment, stir it well occasionally, and when
well fermented, turn into a clean glass or earthen jar. The next morning
cover closely, and put in the cellar or refrigerator, not, however, in
contact with the ice. It is best to reserve enough for the first baking
in some smaller jar, so that the larger portion need not be opened so
soon. Always shake the yeast before using.
RAW POTATO YEAST NO. 2.--This is made in the same manner as the
preceding, with this exception, that one fourth of a cup of loose hops
tied in a clean muslin bag, is boiled in the water for five minutes
before pouring it into the potato and flour mixture. Many think the
addition of the hops aids in keeping the yeast sweet for a longer
period. But potato yeast may be kept sweet for two weeks without hops,
if cared for, and is preferred by those who dislike the peculiar flavor
of the bread made from hop yeast.
HOP YEAST.--Put half a cup of loose hops, or an eighth of an ounce
of the pressed hops (put up by the Shakers and sold by druggists), into
a granite-ware kettle; pour over it a quart of boiling water, and simmer
about five minutes. Meanwhile stir to a smooth paste in a tin basin or
another saucepan, a cup of flour, and a little cold water. Line a
colander with a thin cloth, and strain the boiling infusion of hops
through it onto the flour paste, stirring continually. Boil this thin
starch a few minutes, until it thickens, stirring constantly that no
lumps be formed. Turn it into a large earthen bowl, add a tablespoonful
of salt and two of white sugar, and when it has cooled to blood heat,
add one half cup of lively yeast, stirring all well together. Cover the
bowl with a napkin, and let it stand in some moderately warm place
twenty-four hours, or until it ceases to ferment or send up bubbles,
beating back occasionally as it rises; then put into a wide-mouthed
glass or earthen jar, which has been previously scalded and dried, cover
closely, and set in a cool place. Yeast made in this manner will keep
sweet for two weeks in summer and longer in winter.
BOILED POTATO YEAST.--Peel four large potatoes, and put them to
boil in two quarts of cold water. Tie two loose handfuls of hops
securely in a piece of muslin, and place in the water to boil with the
potatoes. When the potatoes are tender, remove them with a perforated
skimmer, leaving the water still boiling. Mash them, and work in four
tablespoons of flour and two of sugar. Over this mixture pour gradually
the boiling hop infusion, stirring constantly, that it may form a smooth
paste, and set it aside to cool. When lukewarm, add a gill of lively
yeast, and proceed as in the preceding recipe.
BOILED POTATO YEAST NO. 2.--To one teacupful of very smoothly
mashed, mealy potato, add three teaspoonfuls of white sugar, one
teaspoonful of salt, and one cup of lively yeast, or one cake of Yeast
Foam, dissolved in a very little water. The potatoes should be warm, but
not hot enough to destroy the yeast. Allow this to stand until light,
when it is ready for use.
FERMENTED BREADS.
In the preparation of breads after the following recipes, the measure of
flour should be heaping.
_RECIPES._
MILK BREAD WITH WHITE FLOUR.--Scald and cool on pint of unskimmed
milk. Add to the milk when lukewarm, one fourth of a cup, or three
tablespoonfuls, of liquid yeast, and three cups of flour. Give the
batter a vigorous beating, turn it into a clean bread bowl or a small
earthen crock, cover, and let it rise over night. In the morning, when
well risen, add two or three cupfuls of warm flour, or sufficient to
knead. Knead well until the dough is sufficiently elastic to rebound
when struck forcibly with the fist. Allow it to rise again in mass; then
shape into loaves; place in pans; let it stand until light, and bake. If
undesirable to set the bread over night, and additional tablespoonfuls
or two of cheese may be used, to facilitate the rising.
VIENNA BREAD.--Into a pint of milk sterilized by scalding, turn a
cup and a half of boiling water. When lukewarm, add one half cup of warm
water, in which has been dissolved a cake of compressed yeast, and a
quart of white flour. Beat the batter thus made very thoroughly, and
allow it to rise for one hour; then add white flour until the dough is
of a consistency to knead. Knead well, and allow it to rise again for
about three hours, or until very light. Shape into four loaves, handling
lightly. Let it rise again in the pans, and bake. During the baking,
wash the tops of the loaves with a sponge dipped in milk, to glaze them.
WATER BREAD.--Dissolve a tablespoonful of sugar in a pint of
boiling water. When lukewarm, add one fourth of a cup full of liquid
yeast, and sufficient flour to make a batter thick enough to drop from
the spoon. Beat vigorously for ten minutes, turn into a clean,
well-scalded bread bowl, cover (wrapping in a blanket if in cold
weather), and let it rise over night. In the morning, when well risen,
add flour to knead. Knead well for half an hour, cover, and let it
become light in mass. When light, shape into loaves, allow it to rise
again, and bake.
FRUIT ROLL.--Take some bread dough prepared as for Milk Bread,
which has been sufficiently kneaded and is ready to mold, and roll to
about one inch in thickness. Spread over it some dates which have been
washed, dried, and stoned, raisins, currants, or chopped figs. Roll it
up tightly into a loaf. Let and it rise until very light, and bake.
FRUIT LOAF.--Set a sponge with one pint of rich milk, one fourth
cup of yeast, and a pint of flour, over night. In the morning, add two
cups of Zante currents, one cup of sugar, and three cups of flour, or
enough to make a rather stiff dough. Knead well, and set to rise; when
light, mold into loaves; let it rise again, and bake.
POTATO BREAD.--Cook and mash perfectly smooth, potatoes to make a
cupful. Add a teaspoonful of best white sugar, one cup and a half of
warm water, and when the mixture is lukewarm, one half cup of yeast,
prepared as directed for Boiled Potato Yeast No. 2, and flour to make a
very thick batter. Allow it to rise over night. In the morning, add a
pint of warm water and flour enough to knead. The dough will need to be
considerably stiffer than when no potato is used, or the result will be
a bread too moist for easy digestion. Knead well. Let it rise, mold into
four loaves, and when again light, bake.
PULLED BREAD.--Remove a loaf from the oven when about half baked,
and lightly pull the partially set dough into pieces of irregular shape,
about half the size of one's fist. Do not smooth or mold the pieces;
bake in a slow oven until browned and crisp throughout.
WHOLE WHEAT BREAD.--The materials needed for the bread are: one
pint of milk, scalded and cooled, one quart of wheat berry flour, one
pint Minnesota spring wheat flour, one third cup of a soft yeast, or one
fourth cake of compressed yeast, dissolved in one third cup of cold
water. Stir enough flour into the milk to make a stiff batter, put in
the yeast, and let it rise until foamy. Have the milk so warm that, when
the flour is put in, the batter will be of a lukewarm temperature. Wrap
in a thick blanket, and keep at an equable temperature. When light, stir
in, slowly, warm flour to make a soft dough. Knead for fifteen minutes,
and return to the bowl (which has been washed and oiled) to rise again.
When risen to double its size, form into two loaves, place in separate
pans, let rise again, and bake from three fourths to one and one half
hours, according to the heat of the oven.
WHOLE-WHEAT BREAD NO. 2.--Scald one pint of unskimmed milk; when
lukewarm, add one half cup of liquid yeast, or one fourth cake of
compressed yeast, dissolved in one half cup of warm water, and a pint of
Pillsbury's best white flour. Beat this batter thoroughly, and allow it
to rise. When well risen, add three and two thirds cups of wheat berry
flour. Knead thoroughly, and allow it to become light in mass; then
shape into two loaves, allow it to rise again, and bake.
MISS. B'S ONE-RISING BREAD.--Sift and measure three and three
fourths cups of wheat berry flour. Scald and cool a pint of unskimmed
milk. When lukewarm, add one tablespoonful of lively liquid yeast. By
slow degrees add the flour, beating vigorously until too stiff to use a
spoon, then knead thoroughly for half an hour, shape into a loaf, place
in a bread pan, cover with a napkin in warm weather, wrap well with
blankets in cold weather, and let rise over night. In the morning, when
perfectly light, pat in a well heated oven, and bake.
POTATO BREAD WITH WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR.--Take a half gill of liquid
yeast made as for Boiled Potato Yeast No. 2, and add milk, sterilised
and cooled to lukewarm, to make a pint. And one cup of well-mashed,
mealy potato and one cup of white flour, or enough to make a rather
thick batter Beat thoroughly, cover, and set to rise. When well risen,
add sufficient whole-wheat flour to knead. The quantity will vary
somewhat with the brand of flour used, but about four and one fourth
cupfuls will in general be needed. Knead well, let it rise in mass and
again in the loaf, and bake.
RYE BREAD.--Prepare a sponge over night with white flour as for
Water Bread. In the morning, when light, add another tablespoonful of
sugar, and rye flour to knead. Proceed as directed for the Water Bread,
taking care to use only enough rye flour to make the dough Just stiff
enough to mold. Use white flour for dusting than kneading board, as the
rye flour is sticky.
GRAHAM BREAD.--Take two tablespoonfuls of lively liquid yeast, or a
little less than one fourth cake of compressed yeast, dissolved in a
little milk, and add new milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm, to make
one pint. Add one pint of white flour, beat very thoroughly, and set to
rise. When very light, add three find one half cupfuls of sifted Graham
flour, or enough to make a dough that can be molded. Knead well for half
an hour. Place in a clean, slightly oiled bread bowl, cover, and allow
it to rise. When light, shape into a loaf: allow it to rise again, and
bake.
GRAHAM BREAD NO. 2.--Mix well one pint of white and two pints of
best Graham flour. Prepare a batter with a scant pint of milk, scalded
and cooled, two table spoonfuls of liquid yeast, or a little less than
one fourth of a cake of compressed yeast, dissolved in two table
spoonfuls of milk, and a portion of the mixed flour. Give it a vigorous
beating, and put it in a warm place to rise. When well risen, add more
flour to make a dough sufficiently stiff to knead. There will be some
variation in the amount required, dependent upon the brands of flour
used, but in general, two and one half pints of the flour will be enough
for preparing the sponge and kneading the dough. Knead thoroughly for
twenty-five or thirty minutes. Put into a clean and slightly oiled bread
bowl, cover, and set to rise again. When double its first bulk, mold
into a loaf; allow it to rise again, and bake.
GRAHAM BREAD NO. 3.--Mix three pounds each of Graham and Minnesota
spring wheat flour. Make a sponge of one and a half pints of warm water,
one half cake compressed yeast, well dissolved in the water, and flour
to form a batter. Let this rise. When well risen, add one and a half
pints more of warm water, one half cup full of New Orleans molasses, and
sufficient flour to knead. Work the bread thoroughly, allow it to rise
in mass; then mold, place in pans, and let it rise again. The amount of
material given is sufficient for four loaves of bread.
RAISED BISCUIT.--These may be made from dough prepared by any of
the preceding recipes for bread. They will be more tender if made with
milk, and if the dough is prepared expressly for biscuits, one third
cream may be used. When the dough has been thoroughly kneaded the last
time, divide into small, equal-sized pieces. A quantity of dough
sufficient for one loaf of bread should be divided into twelve or
sixteen such portions. Shape into smooth, round biscuits, fit closely
into a shallow pan, and let them rise until very light. Biscuit should
be allowed to become lighter than bread before putting in the oven,
since, being so much smaller, fermentation is arrested much sooner, and
they do not rise as much in the oven as does bread.
ROLLS.--Well kneaded and risen bread dough is made into a variety
of small forms termed rolls, by rolling with the hands or with a
rolling-pin, and afterward cutting or folding into any shape desired,
the particular manner by which they are folded and shaped giving to the
rolls their characteristic names. Dough prepared with rich milk or part
cream makes the best rolls. It may be divided into small, irregular
portions, about one inch in thickness, and shaped by taking each piece
separately in the left hand, then with the thumb and first finger of the
right hand, slightly stretch one of the points of the piece and draw it
over the left thumb toward the center of the roll, holding it there with
the left thumb. Turn the dough and repeat the operation until you have
been all around the dough, and each point has been drawn in; then place
on the pan to rise. Allow the rolls to become very light, and bake.
Rolls prepared in this manner are termed _Imperial Rolls_, and if the
folding has been properly done, when well baked they will be composed of
a succession of light layers, which can be readily separated.
_French Rolls_ may be made by shaping each portion of dough into small
oval rolls quite tapering at each end, allowing them to become light,
and baking far enough apart so that one will not touch another.
If, when the dough is light and ready to shape, it be rolled on the
board until about one eighth of an inch in thickness, and cut into
five-inch squares, then divided through the center into triangles,
rolled up, beginning with the wide side, and placed in the pan to rise
in semicircular shape, the rolls are called _Crescents_.
What are termed _Parker House Rolls_ may be made from well-risen dough
prepared with milk, rolled upon the board to a uniform thickness of
about one forth inch; cut into round or oval shapes with the cutter;
folded, one third over the other two thirds; allowed to rise until very
light, and baked.
The light, rolled dough, may be formed into a _Braid_ by cutting into
strips six inches in length and one in width, joining the ends of each
three, and braiding.
The heat of the oven should be somewhat greater for roils and biscuit
than for bread. The time required will depend upon the heat and the size
of the roll, but it will seldom exceed one half hour. Neither rolls nor
biscuits should be eaten hot, as they are then open to the same
objections as other new yeast bread.
BROWN BREAD.--To one and one fourth cups of new milk which has been
scalded and cooled, add one fourth of a cup of lively yeast, three
tablespoonfuls of sugar, and one cup each of white flour, rye flour or
sifted rye meal, and yellow corn meal. With different brands of flour
there may need to be some variation in the quantity of liquid to be
used. The mixture should be thick enough to shape. Allow it to rise
until light and cracked over the top; put into a bread pan, and when
again well risen, bake for an hour and a half or two hours in an oven
sufficiently hot at first to arrest fermentation and fix the bread
cells, afterwards allowing the heat to diminish somewhat, to permit a
slower and longer baking. Graham flour may be used in place of rye, if
preferred.
DATE BREAD.--Take a pint of light white bread sponge prepared with
milk, add two tablespoons of sugar, and Graham flour to make a very
stiff batter. And last a cupful of stoned dates. Turn into a bread pan.
Let it rise, and bake.
FRUIT LOAF WITH GRAHAM AND WHOLE-WHEAT FLOUR.--Dissolve one fourth
cake of compressed yeast in a pint of sterilized milk; and a pint of
white flour; heat thoroughly, and set to rise. When well risen, add
three and one fourth cups of flour (Graham and whole-wheat, equal
proportions, thoroughly mixed), or sufficient to knead. Knead well for
half an hour, and just at the last add a cup of raisins, well washed,
dried, and dusted with flour. Let the loaf rise in mass; then shape, put
in the pan, allow it to become light again, and bake.
RAISED CORN BREAD.--Into two cupfuls of hot mush made from white
granular corn meal, stir two cupfuls of cold water. Beat well, and add
one half cup of liquid yeast, or one half cake of compressed yeast,
dissolved in one half cup of warm water, and two teaspoonfuls of
granulated sugar. Stir in white or sifted Graham flour to make it stiff
enough to knead. Knead very thoroughly, and put in a warm place to rise.
When light, molded into three loaves, put into pans, and allow it to
rise again. When well risen, bake at least for three fourths of an hour.
CORN CAKE.--Sterilise a cupful of rich milk or thin cream. Cool to
lukewarm, and dissolve in it half a cake of compressed yeast Add two
small cupfuls of white flour; beat very thoroughly, and put in a warm
place to rise. When light, add a cup of lukewarm water or milk, and two
cups of best yellow cornmeal. Turn into a shallow square pan, and leave
until again well risen. Bake in a quick oven. A tablespoonful of sugar
may be added with the corn meal, if desired.
OATMEAL BREAD.--Mix a quart of well-cooked oatmeal mush with a pint
of water, beating it perfectly smooth; add a cupful of liquid yeast and
flour to make a stiff batter. Cover, and let it rise. When light, add
sufficient flour to mold; knead as soft as possible, for twenty or
thirty minutes; shape into four or more loaves, let it rise again, and
bake.
MILK YEAST BREAD.--Prepare the yeast the day before by scalding
three heaping teaspoonfuls of fresh cornmeal with boiling milk. Set in a
warm place until light (from seven to ten hours); then put in a cool
place until needed for use. Start the bread by making a rather thick
batter with one cupful of warm water, one teaspoonful of the prepared
yeast, and white flour. Put in a warm place to rise. When light, add to
it a cupful of flour scalded with a cupful of boiling milk, and enough
more flour to make the whole into a rather stiff batter. Cover, and
allow it to rise. When again well risen, add flour enough to knead.
Knead well; shape into a loaf; let it rise, and bake. Three or four
cupfuls of white flour will be needed for all purposes with the amount
of liquid given; more liquid and flour may be added in forming the
second sponge if a larger quantity of bread is desired. In preparing
both yeast and bread, all utensils used should first be sterilized by
scalding in hot sal-soda water.
GRAHAM SALT-RISING BREAD.--Put two tablespoonfuls of milk into a
half-pint cup, add boiling water to fill the cup half full, one half
teaspoonful of sugar, one fourth teaspoonful of salt, and white flour to
make a rather stiff batter. Let it rise over night. In the morning, when
well risen, add a cup and a half of warm water, or milk scalded and
cooled, and sufficient white flour to form a rather stiff batter. Cover,
and allow it again to rise. When light, add enough sifted Graham flour
to knead. When well kneaded, shape into a loaf; allow it to become light
again in the pan, and bake. All utensils used should be first well
sterilized by scalding in hot sal-soda water.
UNFERMENTED BREADS.
The earliest forms of bread were made without fermentation. Grain was
broken as fine as possible by pounding on smooth stones, made into dough
with pure water, thoroughly kneaded, and baked in some convenient way.
Such was the "unleavened breads" or "Passover cakes" of the Israelites.
In many countries this bread is the only kind used. Unleavened bread
made from barley and oats is largely used by the Irish and Scotch
peasantry. In Sweden an unleavened bread is made of rye meal and water,
flavored with anise seed, and baked in large, thin cakes, a foot or more
in diameter.
[Illustration: Mexican Woman Making Tortillas]
Some savage tribes subsists chiefly upon excellent corn bread, made
simply of meal and water. Unleavened bread made of corn, called
_tortillas_, forms the staple diet of the Mexican Indians. The corn,
previously softened by soaking in lime water, is ground to a fine paste
between a stone slab and roller called a _metate_, then patted and
tossed from hand to hand until flattened into thin, wafer-like cakes,
and baked over a quick fire, on a thin iron plate or a flat stone.
Unquestionably, unleavened bread, well kneaded and properly baked, is
the most wholesome of all breads, but harder to masticate than that made
light by fermentation, but this is an advantage; for it insures more
thorough mixing with that important digestive agent, the saliva, than is
usually given to more easily softened food.
[Illustration: Stone Metate.]
What is usually termed unfermented bread, however, is prepared with
flour and liquid, to which shortening--of some kind is added, and the
whole made light by the liberation of gas generated within the dough
during the process of baking. This is brought about either by mixing
with the flour certain chemical substances, which, when wet and brought
into contact, act upon each other so as to set free carbonic acid gas,
which expands and puffs up the loaf; or by introducing into the dough
some volatile substance as carbonate of ammonia, which the heat during
baking will, cause to vaporize, and which in rising produces the same
result.
Carbonic acid gas maybe for this purpose developed by the chemical
decomposition of bicarbonate of potassa (saleratus), or bicarbonate of
soda, by some acid such as sour milk, hydrochloric acid, tartaric acid,
nitrate of potassa, or the acid phosphate of lime.
The chemical process of bread-raising originally consisted in adding to
the dough definite proportions of muriatic acid and carbonate of soda,
by the union of which carbonic acid gas and common salt were produced.
This process was soon abandoned, however, on account of the propensity
exhibited by the acid for eating holes in the fingers of the baker as
well as in his bread pans; and a more convenient one for hands and
pans, that of using soda or salaratus with cream of tartar or sour milk,
was substituted. When there is an excess of soda, a portion of it
remains in the loaf uncombined, giving to the bread a yellow color and
an alkaline taste, and doing mischief to the delicate coating of the
stomach. Alkalies, the class of chemicals to which soda and salaratus
belong, when pure and strong, are powerful corrosive poisons. The acid
used with the alkali to liberate the carbonic-acid gas in the process of
bread-making, if rightly proportioned, destroys this poisonous property,
and unites with it to form a new compound, which, although not a poison,
is yet unwholesome.
We can hardly speak too strongly in condemnation of the use of chemicals
in bread-making, when we reflect that the majority of housewives who
combine sour milk and salaratus, or cream of tartar and soda, more
frequently than otherwise _guess_ at the proportions, or measure them by
some "rule of thumb," without stopping to consider that although two
cups of sour milk may at one time be sufficiently acid to neutralize a
teaspoonful of saleratus, milk may vary in degree of acidity to such an
extent that the same quantity will be quite insufficient for the purpose
at another time; or that though a teaspoonful of some brand of cream of
tartar will neutralize a half teaspoonful of one kind of soda, similar
measures will not always bring about the same result. Very seldom,
indeed, will the proportions be sufficiently exact to perfectly
neutralise the alkali, since chemicals are subject to variations in
degree of strength, both on account of the method by which they are
manufactured and the length of time they have been kept, to say nothing
of adulterations to which they may have been subjected, and which are so
common that it is almost impossible to find unadulterated cream of
tartar in the market.
Baking powders are essentially composed of bicarbonate of soda and cream
of tartar, mixed in the proper proportions to exactly neutralize each
other, and if they were always pure, would certainly be as good as soda
and cream of tartar in any form, and possess the added advantage of
perfect proportions; but as was demonstrated not long ago by the
government chemist, nearly every variety of baking powder in the market
is largely adulterated with cheaper and harmful substances. Alum, a most
frequent constituent of such baking powders, is exceedingly injurious to
the stomach. Out of several hundred brands of baking powder examined,
only one was found pure.
Even when in their purest state, these chemicals are not harmless, as is
so generally believed. It is a very prevalent idea that when soda is
neutralized by an acid, both chemical compounds are in some way
destroyed or vaporized in the process, and in some occult manner escape
from the bread during the process of baking. This is altogether an
error. The alkali and acid neutralize each other chemically, but they do
not destroy each other. Their union forms a salt, exactly the same as
the Rochelle salts of medicine, a mild purgative, and if we could
collected from the bread and weigh or measure it, we would find nearly
as much of it as there was of the baking powder in the first place. If
two teaspoonfuls of baking powder to the quart of flour be used, we have
remaining in the bread made with that amount of flour 165 grains of
crystallized Rochelle salts, or 45 grains more than this to be found in
a Seidlitz powder. It may be sometimes useful to take a dose of salts,
but the daily consumption of such chemical substances in bread can
hardly be considered compatible with the conditions necessary for the
maintenance of health. These chemical substances are unusable by the
system, and must all be removed by the liver and excretory organs, thus
imposing upon them an extra and unnecessary burden. It has also been
determined by scientific experimentation that the chemicals found in
baking powders in bread retard digestion.
These substances are, fortunately, not needed for the production of good
light bread. The purpose of their use is the production of a gas; but
air is a gas much more economical and abundant than carbonic-acid gas,
and which, when introduced into bread and subjected to heat, has the
property of expanding, and in doing, puffing up the bread and making it
light. Bread made light with air is vastly superior to that compounded
with soda or baking powder, in point of healthfulness, and when well
prepared, will equal it in lightness and palatableness. The only
difficulty lies in catching and holding the air until it has
accomplished the desired results. But a thorough understanding of the
necessary conditions and a little practice will soon enable one to
attain sufficient skill in this direction to secure most satisfactory
results.
[Illustration: Gem Irons]
GENERAL DIRECTIONS.--All materials used for making aerated bread
should be of the very best quality. Poor flour will not produce good
bread by this or by any other process. Aerated breads are of two kinds:
those baked while in the form of a batter, and such as are made into a
dough before baking.
[Illustration: Perforated Sheet Iron Pan for Rolls.]
All breads, whether fermented or unfermented, are lighter if baked in
some small form, and this is particularly true of unfermented breads
made light with air. For this reason, breads made into a dough are best
baked in the form of rolls, biscuits, or crackers, and batter breads in
small iron cups similar to those in the accompanying illustration. These
cups or "gem irons" as they are sometimes called, are to be obtained in
various shapes and sizes, but for this purpose the more shallow cups are
preferable. For baking the dough breads a perforated sheet of Russia
iron or heavy tin, which any tinner can make to fit the oven, is the
most serviceable, as it permits the hot air free access to all sides of
the bread at once. If such is not obtainable, the upper oven grate,
carefully washed and scoured, may be used Perforated pie tins also
answer very well for this purpose.
[Illustration: Making Unfermented Bread.]
The heat of the oven for baking should be sufficient to form a slight
crust over all sides of the bread before the air escapes, but not
sufficient to brown it within the first fifteen minutes. To aid in
forming the crust on the sides and bottom of batter breads, the iron
cups should be heated previous to introducing the batter. The degree of
heat required for baking will be about the same as for fermented rolls
and biscuit, and the fire should be so arranged as to keep a steady but
not greatly increasing heat.
Air is incorporated into batter breads by brisk and continuous agitating
and beating; into dough breads by thorough kneading, chopping, or
pounding.
Whatever the process by which the air is incorporated, it must be
_continuous_. For this reason it is especially essential in making
aerated bread that every thing be in readiness before commencing to put
the bread together. All the materials should be measured out, the
utensils to be used in readiness, and the oven properly heated. Success
is also dependent upon the dexterity with which the materials when ready
are put together. Batter bread often proves a failure although the
beating is kept up without cessation, because it is done slowly and
carelessly, or interspersed with stirring, thus permitting the air to
escape between the strokes.
If the bread is to be baked at once, the greater the dispatch with which
it can be gotten into a properly-heated oven the lighter it will be.
Crackers, rolls and other forms of dough breads often lack in lightness
because they were allowed to stand some time before baking. The same is
true of batter breads. If, for any reason, it is necessary to keep such
breads for any length of time after being prepared, before baking, set
the dish containing them directly on ice.
The lightness of aerated bread depends not only upon the amount of air
incorporated in its preparation, but also upon the expansion of the air
during the baking. The colder the air, the greater will be its expansion
upon the application of heat. The colder the materials employed, then,
for the bread-making, the colder will be the air confined within it, and
the lighter will be the bread. For this reason, in making batter bread,
it will be found a good plan, when there is time, to put the materials
together, and place the dish containing the mixture on ice for an hour
or two, or even over night. When ready to use, beat thoroughly for ten
or fifteen minutes to incorporate air, and bake in heated irons. Rolls
and other breads made into a dough, may be kneaded and shaped and put
upon ice to become cold. Thus treated, less kneading is necessary than
when prepared to be baked at once.
Many of the recipes given for the batter breads include eggs. The yolk
is not particularly essential, and if it can be put to other uses, may
be left out. The white of an egg, because of its viscous nature, when
beaten, serves as a sort of trap to catch and hold air, and added to the
bread, aids in making it light. Very nice light bread may be made
without eggs, but the novice in making aerated breads will, perhaps,
find it an advantage first to become perfectly familiar with the
processes and conditions involved, by using the recipes with eggs before
attempting those without, which are somewhat more dependent for success
upon skill and practice.
When egg is used in the bread, less heating of the irons will be
necessary, and not so hot an oven as when made without.
If the bread, when baked, appears light, but with large holes in the
center, it is probable that either the irons or the oven was too hot at
first. If the bread after baking, seems sticky or dough-like in the
interior, it is an indication that either it was insufficiently baked,
or that not enough flour in proportion to the liquid has been used. It
should be stated, that although the recipes given have been prepared
with the greatest care, and with the same brands of flour, careful
measurement, and proper conditions, prove successful every time, yet
with different brands of flour some variation in quantity may needed,--a
trifle more or less,--dependent upon the absorbent properties of the
flour, and if eggs are used, upon the size of the eggs.
A heavy bread may be the result of the use of poor flour, too much
flour, careless or insufficient beating, so that not enough air was
incorporated, or an oven not sufficiently hot to form a crust over the
bread before the air escaped. Breads made into a dough, if moist and
clammy, require more flour or longer baking. Too much flour will make
them stiff and hard.
The length of time requisite for baking aerated breads made with
whole-wheat, wheat berry, or Graham flours, will vary from forty minutes
to one hour, according to the kind and form in which the bread is baked,
and the heat of the oven.
The irons in which batter breads are to be baked should not be smeared
with grease; if necessary to oil them at all, they should only be wiped
out lightly with a clean, oiled cloth. Irons well cared for, carefully
washed, and occasionally scoured with Sapolio to keep them perfectly
smooth, will require no greasing whatever.
In filling the irons, care should be taken to fill each cup at first as
full as it is intended to have; it, as the heat of the irons begins the
cooking of the batter as soon as it is put in, and an additional
quantity added has a tendency to make the bread less light.
_RECIPES._
WHOLE-WHEAT PUFFS.--Put the yolk of an egg into a basin, and beat
the white in a separate dish to a stiff froth. Add to the yolk, one half
a cupful of rather thin sweet cream and one cupful of skim milk. Beat
the egg, cream, and milk together until perfectly mingled and foamy with
air bubbles; then add, gradually, beating well at the same time, one
pint of what berry flour. Continue the beating vigorously and without
interruption for eight or ten minutes; then stir in, lightly, the white
of the egg. Do not beat again after the white of the egg is added, but
turn at once into heated, shallow irons, and bake for an hour in a
moderately quick oven. If properly made and carefully baked, these puffs
will be of a fine, even texture throughout, and as light as bread raised
by fermentation.
WHOLE-WHEAT PUFFS NO. 2.--Make a batter by beating together until
perfectly smooth the yolk of one egg, one and one half cups of new or
unskimmed milk, and one pint of whole-wheat flour. Place the dish
containing it directly upon ice, and leave for an hour or longer. The
bread may be prepared and left on the ice over night, if desired for
breakfast. When ready to bake the puffs, whip the white of the egg to a
stiff froth, and after vigorously beating the batter for ten minutes,
stir in lightly the white of the egg; turn at once into heated irons,
and bake. If preferred, one third white flour and two thirds sifted
Graham flour may be used in the place of the wheat berry flour.
WHOLE-WHEAT PUFFS NO. 3.--Take one cupful of sweet cream
(twelve-hour cream), one half cupful of soft ice water, and two slightly
rounded cupfuls of wheat berry flour. Beat the material well together,
and set the dish containing it on ice for an hour or more before using.
When ready to bake, beat the mixture vigorously for ten minutes, then
turn into heated iron cups (shallow ones are best), and bake for about
an hour in a quick oven.
GRAHAM PUFFS.--Beat together vigorously until full of air bubbles,
one pint of unskimmed milk, the yolk of one egg, and one pint and three
or four tablespoonfuls of Graham flour, added a little at a time. When
the mixture is light and foamy throughout, stir in lightly and evenly
the white of the egg, beaten to a stiff froth; turn into heated irons,
and bake in a rather quick oven. Instead of all Graham, one third white
flour may be used if preferred.
GRAHAM PUFFS NO. 2.--Beat the yolks of two eggs in two cupfuls of
ice water; then add gradually, beating well meantime, three and one
fourth cupfuls of Graham flour. Continue the beating, after all the
flour is added, until the mixture is light and full of air bubbles. Add
last the whites of the eggs, beaten to a stiff froth, and bake at once
in heated irons.
CURRANT PUFFS.--Prepare the puffs as directed in any of the
foregoing recipes with the addition of one cup of Zante currants which
have been well washed, dried, and floured.
GRAHAM GEMS.--Into two cupfuls of unskimmed milk which has been
made very cold by standing on ice, stir gradually, sprinkling it from
the hand, three and one fourth cupfuls of Graham flour. Beat vigorously
for ten minutes or longer, until the batter is perfectly smooth and full
of air bubbles. Turn at once into hissing hot gem irons, and bake in a
hot oven. If preferred, the batter may be prepared, and the dish
containing it placed on ice for an hour or longer; then well beaten and
baked. Graham gems may be made in this manner with soft water instead of
milk, but such, in general, will need a little more flour than when made
with milk. With some ovens, it will be found an advantage in baking
these gems to place them on the upper grate for the first ten minutes or
until the top has been slightly crusted, and then change to the bottom
of the oven for the baking.
CRUSTS.--Beat together very thoroughly one cupful of ice-cold milk,
and one cupful of Graham flour. When very light and full of air bubbles,
turn into hot iron cups, and bake twenty-five or thirty minutes. The
best irons for this purpose are the shallow oblong, or round cups of the
same size at the bottom as at the top. Only a very little batter should
be put in each cup. The quantity given is sufficient for one dozen
crusts.
RYE PUFFS.--Beat together the same as for whole-wheat puffs one
cupful of milk, one tablespoonful of sugar, and the yolk of an egg. Add
one cupful of good rye flour, mixed with one half cupful of Graham
flour, and stir in lastly the well beaten white of the egg. Bake at
once, in heated gem-irons.
RYE PUFFS NO. 2.--Beat together until well mingled one pint of thin
cream and the yolk of one egg. Add gradually, beating meanwhile, four
cups of rye flour. Continue to beat vigorously for ten minutes, then add
the stiffly-beaten white of the egg, and bake in heated irons.
RYE GEMS.--Mix together one cupful of corn meal and one cupful of
rye meal. Stir the mixed meal into one and a half cupfuls of ice water.
Beat the batter vigorously for ten or fifteen minutes, then turn into
hot irons, and bake.
BLUEBERRY GEMS.--To one cupful of rich milk add one tablespoonful
of sugar, and the yolk of an egg. Beat well till full of air bubbles;
then add gradually one cupful of Graham flour, and one cupful of white
flour, or white corn meal. Beat vigorously until light; stir in the
beaten white of the egg, and one cupful of fresh, sound blueberries.
Bake in heated irons, in a moderately quick oven. Chopped or sour apples
may be used in place of the berries.
HOMINY GEMS.--Beat one egg until very light, add to it one
tablespoonful of thick sweet cream, a little salt if desired, and two
cupfuls of cooked hominy (fine). Thin the mixture with one cupful or
less of boiling water until it will form easily, beat well, and bake in
heated irons.
SALLY LUNN GEMS.--Beat together the yolk of one egg, two
tablespoonfuls of sugar, and one cupful of thin, ice-cold, sweet cream.
Add slowly, beating at the same time, one cup and two tablespoonfuls of
sifted Graham flour. Beat vigorously, until full of air bubbles, add the
white of the egg beaten stiffly, and bake in heated irons.
CORN PUFFS.--Mingle the yolk of one egg with one cupful of rich
milk. Add to the liquid one cupful of flour, one-half cupful of fine,
yellow corn meal, and one-fourth cupful of sugar, all of which have
previously been well mixed together. Place the batter on ice for an
hour, or until very cold. Then beat it vigorously five or ten minutes,
till full of air bubbles; stir in lightly the stiffly beaten white of
the egg, and put at once into heated irons. Bake in a moderately quick
oven, thirty or forty minutes.
CORN PUFFS NO. 2.--Scald two cupfuls of fine white corn meal with
boiling water. When cold, add three tablespoonfuls of thin sweet cream,
and the yolk of one egg. Beat well, and stir in lastly the white of the
egg, beaten to a stiff froth. The batter should be sufficiently thin to
drop easily from a spoon, but not thin enough to pour. Bake in heated
irons, in a moderately quick oven.
CORN PUFFS NO. 3.--Take one cupful of cold mashed potato, and one
cupful of milk, rubbed together through a colander to remove all lumps.
Add the yolk of one well beaten, egg, and then stir in slowly, beating
vigorously meantime, one cupful of good corn meal. Lastly, stir in the
white of the egg beaten to a stiff froth, and bake in heated irons, in a
rather quick oven.
CORN PUFFS NO. 4.--Beat together one and one-half cupfuls of
unskimmed milk and the yolks of two eggs, until thoroughly blended. Add
two cupfuls of flour, and one cupful best granular corn meal. Beat the
batter thoroughly; stir in lightly the whites of the eggs, beaten to a
stiff froth, turn into heated irons, and bake.
CORN DODGERS.--Scald one cupful of best granular corn meal, with
which a tablespoonful of sugar has been sifted, with one cup of boiling
milk. Beat until smooth, and drop on a griddle, in cakes about one inch
in thickness, and bake slowly for an hour. Turn when brown.
CORN DODGERS NO. 2.--Mix one tablespoonful of sugar with two cups
best corn meal. Scald with one cup of boiling water. Add rich milk to
make a batter thin enough to drop from a spoon. Lastly, add one egg,
yolk and white beaten separately, and bake on a griddle in the oven from
three fourth of an hour to one hour.
CREAM CORN CAKES.--Into one cup of thin cream stir one and one half
cups of granular corn meal, or enough to make a stiff batter; beat well,
drop into heated irons, and bake.
HOE CAKES.--Scald one pint of white corn meal, with which, if
desired, a tablespoonful of sugar, and one half teaspoonful of salt have
been mixed, with boiling milk, or water enough to make a batter
sufficiently thick not to spread. Drop on a hot griddle, in large or
small cakes, as preferred, about one half inch in thickness. Cook
slowly, and when well browned on the under side, turn over. The cake may
be cooked slowly, until well done throughout, or, as the portion
underneath becomes well browned the first browned crust may be peeled
off with a knife, and the cake again turned. As rapidly as a crust
becomes formed and browned, one may be removed, and the cake turned,
until the whole is all browned. The thin wafer-like crusts are excellent
served with hot milk or cream.
OATMEAL GEMS.--To one cupful of well-cooked oatmeal add one half
cupful of rich milk or thin cream, and the yolk of one egg. Beat all
together thoroughly; then add, continuing to beat, one and one third
cupfuls of Graham flour, and lastly the stiffly beaten white of the egg.
Bake in heated irons. If preferred, one cupful of white flour may be
used in place of the Graham.
SNOW GEMS.--Beat together lightly but thoroughly two parts clean,
freshly fallen, dry snow, and one part best granular corn meal. Turn
into hot gem irons and bake quickly. The snow should not be packed in
measuring, and the bread should be prepared before the snow melts.
POP OVERS.--For the preparation of these, one egg, one cupful of
milk, and one scant cupful of white flour are required. Beat the egg,
yolk and white separately. Add to the yolk, when well beaten, one half
of the milk, and sift in the flour a little at a time, stirring until
the whole is a perfectly smooth paste. Add the remainder of the milk
gradually, beating well until the whole is an absolutely smooth, light
batter about the thickness of cream. Stir in the stiffly beaten white of
the egg, and bake in hot earthen cups or muffin rings, and to prevent
them from sticking, sift flour into the rings after slightly oiling,
afterward turning them upside down to shake off all of the loose flour.
GRANOLA GEMS.--Into three fourths of a cup of rich milk stir one
cup of Granola (prepared by the Sanitarium Food Co.). Drop into heated
irons, and bake for twenty or thirty minutes.
BEAN GEMS.--Prepare the gems in the same manner as for Whole-Wheat
Puffs, using one half cup of milk, one egg, one cup of cooked beans
which have been rubbed through a colander and salted, and one cup and
one tablespoonful of white flour. A little variation in the quantity of
the flour may be necessary, dependent upon the moisture contained in the
beans, although care should be taken to have them quite dry.
BREAKFAST ROLLS.--Sift a pint and a half of Graham flour into a
bowl, and into it stir a cupful of very cold thin cream or unskimmed
milk. Pour the liquid into the flour slowly, a few spoonfuls at a time,
mixing each spoonful to a dough with the flour as fast as poured in.
When all the liquid has been added, gather the fragments of dough
together, knead thoroughly for ten minutes or longer, until perfectly
smooth and elastic. The quantity of flour will vary somewhat with the
quality, but in general, the quantity given will be quite sufficient for
mixing the dough and dusting the board. When well kneaded, divide into
two portions; roll each over and over with the hands, until a long roll
about once inch in diameter is formed; cut this into two-inch lengths,
prick with a fork and place on perforated tins, far enough apart so that
one will not touch another when baking. Each roll should be as smooth
and perfect as possible, and with no dry flour adhering. Bake at once,
or let stand on ice for twenty minutes. The rolls should not be allowed
to stand after forming, unless on ice. From thirty to forty minutes will
be required for baking. When done, spread on the table to cool, but do
not pile one on top of another.
Very nice rolls may be made in the same manner, using for the wetting
ice-cold soft water. They requite a longer kneading, are more crisp, but
less tender than those made with cream.
With some brands of Graham flour the rolls will be much lighter if one
third white flour be used. Whole-wheat flour may be used in place of
Graham, if preferred.
STICKS.--Prepare, and knead the dough the same as for rolls. When
ready to form, roll the dough much smaller; scarcely larger than one's
little finger, and cut into three or four-inch lengths. Bake the same as
rolls, for about twenty minutes.
CREAM GRAHAM RAILS.--To one half cup cold cream add one half cup of
soft ice water. Make into a dough with three cups of Graham flour,
sprinkling in slowly with the hands, beating at the same time, so as to
incorporate as much air as possible, until the dough is too stiff to be
stirred; then knead thoroughly, form into rolls, and bake.
CORN MUSH ROLLS.--Make a dough of one cup of corn meal mush, one
half cup of cream, and two and one half cups of white flour; knead
thoroughly, shape into rolls, and bake.
FRUIT ROLLS.--Prepare the rolls as directed in the recipe for
Breakfast Rolls, and when well kneaded, work into the dough a half
cupful of Zante currants which have been well washed, dried, and
floured. Form the rolls in the usual manner, and bake.
CREAM MUSH ROLLS.--Into a cupful of cold Graham mush beat
thoroughly three tablespoonfuls of thick, sweet cream. Add sufficient
Graham flour to make a rather stiff dough, knead thoroughly, shape into
roils, and bake. Corn meal, farina, and other mushes may be used in the
place of the Graham mush, if preferred.
BEATEN BISCUIT.--Into a quart of whole-wheat flour mix a large cup
of must be very stiff, and rendered soft and pliable by thorough
kneading and afterward pounding with a mallet for at least half an hour
in the following manner: Pound the dough oat flat, and until of the same
thickness throughout; dredge lightly with flour; double the dough over
evenly and pound quickly around the outside, to fasten the edges
together and thus retain the air within the dough. When well worked, the
dough will appear flaky and brittle, and pulling a piece off it quickly
will cause a sharp, snapping sound. Mold into small biscuits, making an
indenture in the center of each with the thumb, prick well with a fork,
and place on perforated sheets, with a space between, and put at once
into the oven. The oven should be of the same temperature as for rolls.
If they are "sad" inside when cold, they were not well baked, as they
should be light and tender. If preferred, use one third white flour,
instead of all whole-wheat. Excellent results are also obtained by
chopping instead of pounding the dough.
CREAM CRISPS.--Make a dough of one cupful of thin cream, and a
little more than three cups of Graham flour. Knead until smooth, then
divide the dough into several pieces, and place in a dish on ice for an
hour, or until ice cold. Roll each piece separately and quickly as thin
as brown paper. Cut with a knife into squares, prick with a fork, and
bake on perforated tins, until lightly browned on both sides.
CREAM CRISPS NO. 2.--Into two and one half cups of cold cream or
rich milk, sprinkle slowly with the hands, beating meanwhile to
incorporate air, four cups of best Graham flour, sifted with one half
cup of granulated sugar. Add flour to knead; about two and one fourth
cups will be required. When well kneaded, divide into several portions,
roll each as thin as a knife blade, cut into squares, prick well with a
fork, and bake.
GRAHAM CRISPS.--Into one half cupful of ice-cold soft water, stir
slowly, so as to incorporate as much air as possible, enough Graham
flour to make a dough stiff enough to knead. A tablespoonful of sugar
may be added to the water before stirring in the flour, if desired.
After kneading fifteen minutes, divide the dough into six portions;
roll each as thin as brown paper, prick with a fork, and bake on
perforated tins, turning often until both sides are a light, even brown.
Break into irregular pieces and serve.
OATMEAL CRISPS.--Make a dough with one cupful of oatmeal porridge
and Graham flour. Knead thoroughly, roll very thin, and bake as directed
for Graham Crisps. A tablespoonful of sugar may be added if desired.
GRAHAM CRACKERS.--Make a dough of one cup of cream and Graham flour
sufficient to make a soft dough. Knead thoroughly, and place on ice for
half an hour; then roll thin, cut into small cakes with a cookie-cutter,
prick with a fork, and bake on floured pans, in a brisk oven. A
tablespoonful of sugar may be added if desired.
FRUIT CRACKERS.--Prepare a dough with one cup of cold sweet cream
and three cups of Graham flour, knead well, and divide into two
portions. Roll each quite thin. Spread one thickly with dates or figs
seeded and chopped; place the other one on top and press together with
the rolling pin. Cut into squares and bake. An additional one fourth of
a cup of flour will doubtless be needed for dusting the board and
kneading.
TABLE TOPICS.
Behind the nutty loaf is the mill wheel; behind the mill is the
wheat field; on the wheat field rests the sunlight; above the sun is
God.--_James Russell Lowell._
Bread forms one of the most important parts of the ration of the
German soldier. In time of peace, the private soldier is supplied
day by day with one pound and nine ounces of bread; when fighting
for the Fatherland, every man is entitled to a free ration of over
two pounds of bread, and field bakery trains and steam ovens for
providing the large amount of bread required, form a recognized part
of the equipment of the German army.
The wandering Arab lives almost entirely upon bread, with a few
dates as a relish.
According to Count Rumford, the Bavarian wood-chopper, one of the
most hardy and hard-working men in the world, receives for his
weekly rations one large loaf of rye bread and a small quantity of
roasted meal. Of the meal he makes an infusion, to which he adds a
little salt, and with the mixture, which he calls burned soup, he
eats his rye bread. No beer, no beef, no other food than that
mentioned, and no drink but water; and yet he can do more work and
enjoys a better digestion and possesses stronger muscles than the
average American or Englishman, with their varied dietary.
The following truthful bit of Scandinavian history well illustrates
the influence of habits of frugality upon national character: "The
Danes were approaching, and one of the Swedish bishops asked how
many men the province of Dalarna could furnish.
"'At least twenty thousand,' was the reply; 'for the old men are
just as strong and brave as the young ones.'
"'But what do they live upon?'
"'Upon bread and water. They take little account of hunger and
thirst, and when corn is lacking, they make their bread out of tree
bark.'
"'Nay,' said the bishop, 'a people who eat tree bark and drink
water, the devil himself could not vanquish!' and neither were they
vanquished. Their progress was one series of triumphs, till they
placed Gustavus Vasa on the throne of Sweden."
The word _biscuit_ embodies the process by which this form of bread
was made from time immemorial down to within the last century. _Bis_
(twice), and _coctus_ (cooked), show that they were twice baked.
Fragments of unfermented bread were discovered in the Swiss
lake-dwellings, which belong to the Neolithic age.
Fermented bread is seldom seen in Northern Europe and Asia except
among the rich or the nobility. At one time, the captain of an
English vessel requested a baker of Gottenburg to bake a large
quantity of loaves of raised bread. The baker refused to undertake
an order of such magnitude, saying it would be quite impossible to
dispose of so much, until the captain agreed to take and pay for it
all.
I made a study of the ancient and indispensable art of bread-making,
consulting such authorities as offered, going back to the primitive
days and first invention of the unleavened kind, and traveling
gradually down in my studies through that accidental souring of the
dough which it is supposed taught the leavening process, and through
the various fermentations thereafter till I came to "good, sweet,
wholesome bread,"--the staff of life. Leaven, which some deemed the
soul of bread, the _spiritus_ which fills its cellular tissues,
which is religiously preserved like the vestal fire,--some precious
bottleful, I suppose, brought over in the Mayflower, did the
business for America, and its influence is still rising, swelling,
spreading in cerulean billows over the land,--this seed I regularly
and faithfully procured from the village, until one morning I forgot
the rules and scalded my yeast; by which accident I discovered that
even this was not indispensable, and I have gladly omitted it ever
since. Neither did I put any soda or other acid or alkali into my
bread. It would seem that I made it according to the recipe which
Marcus Porcius Cato gave about two centuries before Christ: "Make
kneaded bread thus: Wash your hands and trough well. Put the meal
into the trough, add water gradually, and knead it thoroughly. When
you have needed it well, mold it, and bake it under a cover," that
is in a baking kettle.--_Thoreau in Walden._
FRUITS
Of all the articles which enter the list of foods, none are more
wholesome and pleasing than the fruits which nature so abundantly
provides. Their delicate hues and perfect outlines appeal to our sense
of beauty, while their delicious flavors gratify our appetite. Our
markets are supplied with an almost unlimited variety of both native and
tropical fruits, and it might be supposed that they would always appear
upon the daily bill of fare; yet in the majority of homes this is rarely
the case. People are inclined to consider fruit, unless the product of
their own gardens, a luxury too expensive for common use. Many who use a
plentiful supply, never think of placing it upon their tables, unless
cooked. Ripe fruit is a most healthful article of diet when partaken of
at seasonable times; but to eat it, or any other food, between meals, is
a gross breach of the requirements of good digestion.
Fruits contain from seventy-five to ninety-five per cent of water, and a
meager proportion of nitrogenous matter; hence their value as
nutrients, except in a few instances, is rather small; but they supply a
variety of agreeable acids which refresh and give tone to the system,
and their abundant and proper use does much to keep the vital machinery
in good working order.
Aside from the skin and seeds, all fruits consist essentially of two
parts,--the cellulose structure containing the juice, and the juice
itself. The latter is water, with a small proportion of fruit sugar
(from one to twenty per cent in different varieties), and vegetable
acids. These acids are either free, or combined with potash and lime in
the form of acid salts. They are mallic, citric, tartaric, and pectic
acids. The last-named is the jelly-producing principle.
While the juice, as we commonly find it, is readily transformable for
use in the system, the cellular structure of the fruit is not so easily
digested. In some fruits, as the strawberry, grape, and banana, the cell
walls are so delicate as to be easily broken up; but in watermelons,
apples, and oranges, the cells are coarser, and form a larger bulk of
the fruit, hence are less easily digested. As a rule, other points being
equal, the fruits which yield the richest and largest quantity of
juices, and also possess a cellular framework the least perceptible on
mastication, are the most readily digested. A certain amount of waste
matter is an advantage, to give bulk to our food; but persons with weak
stomachs, who cannot eat certain kinds of fruit, are often able to
digest the juice when taken alone.
Unripe fruits differ from ripe fruits in that they contain, starch,
which during ripening is changed into sugar, and generally some
proportion of tannic acid, which gives them their astringency. The
characteristic constituent of unripe fruit, however, is pectose, an
element insoluble in water, but which, as maturation proceeds, is
transformed into pectic and pectosic acids. These are soluble in boiling
water, and upon cooling, yield gelatinous solutions. Their presence
makes it possible to convert the juice of ripe fruits into jelly. Raw
starch in any form is indigestible, hence unripe fruit should never be
eaten uncooked. As fruit matures, the changes it undergoes are such as
best fit for consumption and digestion. The following table shows the
composition of the fruits in common use:--
ANALYSIS.
Water. Albumen. Sugar. Free Acid. Pectose. Cellulose Mineral
Matter.
Apples 83.0 0.4 6.8 1.0 5.2 3.2 0.4
Pears 84.0 0.3 7.0 0.1 4.6 3.7 0.3
Peaches 85.0 0.5 1.8 0.7 8.0 3.4 0.6
Grapes 80.0 0.7 Glucose. Tartaric. 3.1 2.0 0.4
13.0 0.8
Plums 82.0 0.2 3.6 0.5 5.7 ... 0.6
Gooseberries 86.0 0.4 7.0 1.5 1.9 2.7 0.5
Strawberries 87.6 0.5 4.5 1.3 0.1 ... 0.6
Raspberries 86.+ 0.5 4.7 1.3 1.7 ... 0.4
Currants 85.2 0.4 6.4 1.8 0.2 ... 0.5
Blackberries 86.4 0.5 4.4 1.1 1.4 ... 0.4
Cherries 75.0 0.9 13.1 0.3 2.2 ... 0.6
Apricots 85.0 .08 1.0 ... 5.9 ... 0.8
Oranges 86.0 [A] 8 to 10 ... ... ... ...
Dates 20.8 6.6 54.0 Fat. 12.3 5.5 1.6
0.2
Bananas 73.9 4.8 19.7[B] Fat. ... 0.2 0.8
0.6
Turkey Figs 17.5 6.1 57.5 Fat. 8.4[C] 7.3 2.3
0.9
[Table Note A: Small quantities of albumen, citric acid, citrate of
potash, cellulose, etc.]
[Table Note B: Sugar and pectose.]
[Table Note C: Starch, pectose, etc.]
There is a prevailing notion that the free use of fruits, especially in
summer, excites derangement of the digestive organs. When such
derangement occurs, it is far more likely to have been occasioned by the
way in which the fruit was eaten than by the fruit itself. Perhaps it
was taken as a surfeit dish at the end of a meal. It may have been eaten
in combination with rich, oily foods, pastry, strong coffee, and other
indigestible viands, which, in themselves, often excite an attack of
indigestion. Possibly it was partaken of between meals, or late at
night, with ice cream and other confections, or it was swallowed without
sufficient mastication. Certainly, it is not marvelous that stomach and
bowel disorders do result under such circumstances. The innocent fruit,
like many other good things, being found in "bad company," is blamed
accordingly. An excess of any food at meals or between meals, is likely
to prove injurious, and fruits present no exception to this rule. Fruit
taken at seasonable times and in suitable quantities, alone or in
combination with proper foods, gives us one of the most agreeable and
healthful articles of diet. Fruit, fats, and meats do not affiliate, and
they are liable to create a disturbance whenever taken together.
Partially decayed, stale, and over-ripe, as well as unripe fruit, should
never be eaten. According to M. Pasteur, the French scientist, all
fruits and vegetables, when undergoing even incipient decay, contain
numerous germs, which, introduced into the system, are liable to produce
disturbances or disease. Perfectly fresh, ripe fruit, with proper
limitations as to quantity and occasion, may be taken into a normal
stomach with impunity at any season.
It is especially important that all fruits to be eaten should not only
be sound in quality, but should be made perfectly clean by washing if
necessary, since fruit grown near the ground is liable to be covered
with dangerous bacteria (such as cause typhoid fever or diphtheria),
which exist in the soil or in the material used in fertilizing it.
Most fruits, properly used, aid digestion either directly or indirectly.
The juicy ones act as dilutents, and their free use lessens the desire
for alcohol and other stimulants. According to German analysts, the
apple contains a larger percentage of phosphorus than any other fruit,
or than any vegetable. In warm weather and in warm climates, when foods
are not needed for a heat-producing purpose, the diet may well consist
largely of fruits and succulent vegetables, eaten in combination with
bread and grains. In case of liver and kidney affections, rheumatism,
and gout, the use of fruit is considered very beneficial by many
scientific authorities.
To serve its best purpose, raw fruit should be eaten without sugar or
other condiments, or with the addition of as small a quantity as
possible.
It is a disputed question whether fruits should begin or end the meal;
but it is generally conceded by those who have given the matter
attention, that fruit eaten at the beginning of a meal is itself the
more readily digested, and aids in the digestion of other foods, since
fruits, like soups, have the property of stimulating the flow of the
digestive juices. Something, however, must depend upon the character of
the fruit; oranges, melons, and like juicy fruits, are especially useful
as appetizers to begin the meal, while bananas and similar fruits agree
better if taken with other food, so as to secure thorough mixture with
saliva. This is true of all fruits, except such pulpy fruits as
strawberries, peaches, melons, grapes, and oranges. It is often
erroneously asserted that fruit as dessert is injurious to digestion.
For those people, however, who regulate their bill of fare in accordance
with the principles of hygiene, a simple course of fruit is not only
wholesome, but is all that is needed after a dinner; and much time,
labor, and health will be saved when housekeepers are content to serve
desserts which nature supplies all ready for use, instead of those
harmful combinations in the preparing of which they spend hours of
tiresome toil.
DESCRIPTION.--For convenience, fruits may be grouped together; as,
_pomaceous_ fruits, including the apple, quince, pear, etc.; the
_drupaceous_ fruits, those provided with a hard stone surrounded by a
fleshy pulp, as the peach, apricot, plum, cherry, olive, and date; the
orange or citron group, including the orange, lemon, lime, citron, grape
fruit, shaddock, and pomegranate; the _baccate_ or berry kind,
comprising the grape, gooseberry, currant, cranberry, whortleberry,
blueberry, and others; the _arterio_ group, to which belong raspberries,
strawberries, dewberries, and blackberries; the fig group; the gourd
group, including--melons and cantaloupes; and foreign fruits.
It is impossible, in the brief scope of this work, to enumerate the
infinite varieties of fruit; but we will briefly speak of some of the
most common found in the gardens and markets of this latitude.
APPLES.--The origin and first home of the apple, is unknown. If
tradition is to be believed, it was the inauspicious fruit to which may
be traced all the miseries of mankind. In pictures of the temptation in
the garden of Eden, our mother Eve is generally represented as holding
an apple in her hand.
We find the apple mentioned in the mythologies of the Greeks, Druids,
and Scandinavians. The Thebans offered apples instead of sheep as a
sacrifice to Hercules, a custom derived from the following
circumstance:--
"At one time, when a sacrifice was necessary, the river Asopus had so
inundated the country that it was impossible to take a sheep across it
for the purpose, when some youths, recollecting that the Greek word
_melon_ signified both sheep and an apple, stuck wooden pegs into the
fruit to represent legs, and brought this vegetable quadruped as a
substitute for the usual offering. After this date, the apple was
considered as especially devoted to Hercules."
In ancient times, Greece produced most excellent apples. They were the
favorite dessert of Phillip of Macedon and Alexander the Great, the
latter causing them to be served at all meals. Doubtless they came to be
used to excess; for it is recorded of the Athenian lawgiver, Solon, that
he made a decree prohibiting a bridegroom from partaking of more than
one at his marriage banquet, a law which was zealously kept by the
Greeks, and finally adopted by the Persians. In Homer's time the apple
was regarded as one of the precious fruits. It was extensively
cultivated by the Romans, who gave to new varieties the names of many
eminent citizens, and after the conquest of Gaul, introduced its culture
into Southwestern Europe, whence it has come to be widely diffused
throughout all parts of the temperate zone.
Apples were introduced into the United States by the early settlers,
and the first trees were planted on an island in Boston Harbor, which
still retains the name of Apple Island. The wild crab tree is the parent
of most of the cultivated varieties.
THE PEAR.--The origin of the pear, like that of the apple, is
shrouded in obscurity, though Egypt, Greece, and Palestine dispute for
the honor of having given birth to the tree which bears this prince of
fruits. Theophrastus, a Greek philosopher of the fourth century, speaks
of the pear in terms of highest praise; and Galen, the father of medical
science, mentions the pear in his writings as possessing "qualities
which benefit the stomach." The pear tree is one of the most hardy of
all fruit trees, and has been known to live several hundred years.
THE QUINCE.--This fruit appears to have been a native of Crete,
from whence it was introduced into ancient Greece; and was largely
cultivated by both Greeks and Romans. In Persia, the fruit is edible in
its raw state; but in this country it never ripens sufficiently to be
palatable without being cooked. The fruit is highly fragrant and
exceedingly acid, and for these reasons it is largely employed to flavor
other fruits.
THE PEACH.--This fruit, as its botanical name, _prinus Persica_,
indicates, is a native of Persia, and was brought from that country to
Greece, from whence it passed into Italy. It is frequently mentioned by
ancient writers, and was regarded with much esteem by the people of
Asia. The Romans, however, had the singular notion that peaches gathered
in Persia contained a deadly poison, but if once transplanted to another
soil, this injurious effect was lost. In composition, the peach is
notable for the small quantity of saccharine matter it contains in
comparison with other fruits.
THE PLUM.--The plum is one of the earliest of known fruits. Thebes,
Memphis, and Damascus were noted for the great number of their plum
trees in the early centuries. Plum trees grow wild in Asia, America, and
the South of Europe, and from these a large variety of domestic plum
fruits have been cultivated.
Plums are more liable than most other fruits to produce disorders of
digestion, and when eaten raw should be carefully selected, that they be
neither unripe nor unripe. Cooking renders them less objectionable.
THE PRUNE.--The plum when dried is often called by its French
cognomen, _prune_. The larger and sweeter varieties are generally
selected for drying, and when good and properly cooked, are the most
wholesome of prepared fruits.
THE APRICOT.--This fruit seems to be intermediate between the peach
and the plum, resembling the former externally, while the stone is like
that of the plum. The apricot originated in Armenia, and the tree which
bears the fruit was termed by the Romans "the tree of Armenia." It was
introduced into England in the time of Henry VIII. The apricot is
cultivated to some extent in the United States, but it requires too much
care to permit of its being largely grown, except in certain sections.
THE CHERRY.--The common garden cherry is supposed to have been
derived from the two species of wild fruit, and historians tell us that
we are indebted to the agricultural experiments of Mithridates, the
great king of ancient Pontus, for this much esteemed fruit. It is a
native of Asia Minor, and its birthplace.
THE OLIVE.--From time immemorial the olive has been associated with
history. The Scriptures make frequent reference to it, and its
cultivation was considered of first importance among the Jews, who used
its oil for culinary and a great variety of other purposes. Ancient
mythology venerated the olive tree above all others, and invested it
with many charming bits of fiction. Grecian poets sang its praises, and
early Roman writers speak of it with high esteem. In appearance and size
the fruit is much like the plum; when ripe, it is very dark green,
almost black, and possesses a strong, and, to many people, disagreeable
flavor. The pulp abounds in a bland oil, for the production of which it
is extensively cultivated in Syria, Egypt, Italy, Spain, and Southern
France. The fruit itself is also pickled and preserved in various ways,
but, like all other similar commodities when thus prepared, it is by no
means a wholesome article of food.
THE DATE.--The date is the fruit of the palm tree so often
mentioned in the Sacred Writings, and is indigenous to Africa and
portions of Asia. The fruit grows in bunches which often weigh from
twenty to twenty-five pounds, and a single tree will bear from one to
three thousand pounds in a season. The date is very sweet and
nutritious. It forms a stable article of diet for the inhabitants of
some parts of Egypt, Arabia, and Persia, and frequently forms the chief
food of their horses, dogs, and camels. The Arabs reduce dried dates to
a meal, and make therefrom a bread, which often constitutes their sole
food on long journeys through the Great Desert. The inhabitants of the
countries where the date tree flourishes, put its various productions to
innumerable uses. From its leaves they make baskets, bags, mats, combs,
and brushes; from its stalks, fences for their gardens; from its fibers,
thread, rope, and rigging; from its sap, a spirituous liquor; from its
fruit, food for man and beast; while the body of the tree furnishes them
with fuel. The prepared fruit is largely imported to this country. That
which is large, smooth, and of a soft reddish yellow tinge, with a
whitish membrane between the flesh and stone, is considered the best.
THE ORANGE.--According to some authors, the far-famed "golden fruit
of the Hesperides," which Hercules stole, was the orange; but it seems
highly improbable that it was known to writers of antiquity. It is
supposed to be indigenous to Central and Eastern Asia. Whatever its
nativity, it has now spread over all the warmer regions of the earth.
The orange tree is very hardy in its own habitat, and is one of the most
prolific of all fruit-bearing trees, a single tree having been known to
produce twenty thousand good oranges in a season. Orange trees attain
great age. There are those in Italy and Spain which are known to have
flourished for six hundred years. Numerous varieties of the orange are
grown, and are imported to our markets from every part of the globe.
Florida oranges are among the best, and when obtained in their
perfection, are the most luscious of all fruits.
THE LEMON.--This fruit is supposed to be a native of the North of
India, although it is grown in nearly all sub-tropical climates. In
general, the fruit is very acid, but in a variety known as the sweet
lemon, or bergamot (said to be a hybrid of the orange and lemon), the
juice is sweet. The sour lemon is highly valued for its antiscorbutic
properties, and is largely employed as a flavoring ingredient in
culinary preparations, and in making a popular refreshing beverage.
THE CITRON.--The citron is a fruit very similar to the lemon,
though larger in size and less succulent. It is supposed to be identical
with the Hebrew _tappuach_, and to be the fruit which is mentioned in
the English version of the Old Testament as "apple." The citron is not
suitable for eating in its raw state, though its juice is used in
connection with water and sugar to form an excellent acid drink. Its
rind, which is very thick, with a warty and furrowed exterior, is
prepared in sugar and largely used for flavoring purposes.
THE LIME.--The fruit of the lime is similar to the lemon, though
much smaller in size. It is a native of Eastern Asia, but has long been
cultivated in the South of Europe and other sub-tropical countries. The
fruit is seldom used except for making acidulous drinks, for which it is
often given the preference over the lemon.
THE GRAPE FRUIT.--This fruit, a variety of shaddock, belongs to the
great _citrus_ family, of which there are one hundred and sixty-nine
known varieties. The shaddock proper, however, is a much larger fruit,
frequently weighing from ten to fourteen pounds. Although a certain
quantity of grape fruit is brought from the West Indies, our principal
supply is derived from Florida. It is from two to four times the size of
an ordinary orange, and grows in clusters. It is rapidly gaining in
favor with fruit lovers. Its juice has a moderately acid taste and makes
a pleasing beverage. The pulp, carefully separated, is also much
esteemed.
THE POMEGRANATE.--This fruit has been cultivated in Asia from
earliest antiquity, and is still quite generally grown in most tropical
climes. In the Scriptures it is mentioned with the vine, fig, and olive,
among the pleasant fruits of the promised land. It is about the size of
a large peach, of a fine golden color, with a rosy tinge on one side.
The rind is thick and leathery. The central portion is composed of
little globules of pulp and seeds inclosed in a thin membrane, each seed
being about the size of a red currant. It is sub-acid, and slightly
bitter in taste. The rind is strongly astringent, and often used as a
medicine.
THE GRAPE.--Undoubtedly the grape was one of the first fruits eaten
by mankind, and one highly valued from antiquity down to the present
time. Although this fruit is often sadly perverted in the manufacture of
wine, when rightly used it is one of the most excellent of all fruits.
The skins and seeds are indigestible and should be rejected, but the
fresh, juicy pulp is particularly wholesome and refreshing. Several
hundred varieties of the grape are cultivated. Some particularly sweet
varieties are made into raisins, by exposure to the sun or to artificial
heat. Sun-dried grapes make the best raisins. The so-called English or
Zante currant belongs to the grape family, and is the dried fruit of a
vine which grows in the Ionian Islands and yields a very small berry.
The name _currant_, as applied to these fruits, is a corruption of the
word _Corinth_, where the fruit was formerly grown.
THE GOOSEBERRY.--The gooseberry probably derives its name from
gorse or goss, a prickly shrub that grows wild in thickets and on
hillsides in Europe, Asia, and America. It was known to the ancients,
and is mentioned in the writings of Theocritus and Pliny. Gooseberries
were a favorite dish with some of the emperors, and were extensively
cultivated in gardens during the Middle Ages. The gooseberry is a
wholesome and agreeable fruit, and by cultivation may be brought to a
high state of perfection in size and flavor.
THE CURRANT.--This fruit derives its name from its resemblance to
the small grapes of Corinth, sometimes called Corinthus, and is
indigenous to America, Asia, and Europe. The fruit is sharply acid,
though very pleasant to the taste. Cultivation has produced white
currants from the red, and in a distinct species of the fruit grown in
Northern Europe and Russia, the currants are black or yellow.
THE WHORTLEBERRY AND BLUEBERRY.--These are both species of the same
fruit, which grows in woods and waste places in the North of Europe and
America. Of the latter species there are two varieties, the high-bush
and the low-bush, which are equally palatable. The fruit is very sweet
and pleasant to the taste, and is one of the most wholesome of all
berries.
THE CRANBERRY.--A German writer of note insists that the original
name of this fruit was cram-berry, because after dinner, when one was
filled with other food, such was its pleasant and seductive flavor that
he could still "cram" quite a quantity thereof, in defiance of all
dietetic laws. Other writers consider the name a corruption of
craneberry, so called because it is eagerly sought after by the cranes
and other birds which frequent the swamps and marshes where it chiefly
grows. The fruit is extremely acid, and is highly valued for sauces and
jellies. Cranberries are among the most convenient fruits for keeping.
Freezing does not seem to hurt them, and they may be kept frozen all
winter, or in water without freezing, in the cellar, or other cool
places, for a long period.
THE STRAWBERRY.--The flavor of antiquity rests upon the wild
strawberry. Its fruit was peddled by itinerant dealers about the streets
of ancient Grecian and Roman cities. Virgil sings of it in pastoral
poems, and Ovid mentions it in words of praise. The name by which the
fruit was known to the Greeks indicates its size; with the Latins its
name was symbolic of its perfume. The name _strawberry_ probably came
from the old Saxon _streawberige_, either from some resemblance of the
stems to straw, of from the fact that the berries have the appearance
when growing of being strewn upon the ground. In olden times, children
strung the berries upon straws, and sold so many "straws of berries" for
a penny, from which fact it is possible the name may have been derived.
The strawberry is indigenous to the temperate regions of both the
Eastern and Western Hemispheres, but it seems to have been matured in
gardens, only within the last two centuries.
THE RASPBERRY.--This fruit grows in both a wild and a cultivated
state. It derives its name from the rough rasps or spines with which the
bushes are covered. Among the ancients it was called "the bramble of Mt.
Ida," because it was abundant upon that mountain. It is a hardy fruit,
found in most parts of the world, and is of two special varieties, the
black and the red.
THE BLACKBERRY.--This fruit is a native of America and the greater
part of Europe. There are one hundred and fifty-one named species,
although the high-blackberry and the low-blackberry, or dewberry, are
said to have furnished the best cultivated varieties.
THE MULBERRY.--Different varieties of the mulberry tree produce
white, red, and black mulberries of fine aromatic flavor, and acidulous
or sweet taste. Persia is supposed to be the native home of this fruit,
from whence it was carried, at an early date, to Asia Minor and to
Greece. The Hebrews were evidently well acquainted with it. It was also
cultivated by the farmers of Attica and Peloponnesus. The ancient
mulberry was considered the wisest and most prudent of trees, because it
took care not to put forth the smallest bud until the cold of winter had
disappeared, not to return. Then, however, it lost no time, but budded
and blossomed in a day. Several varieties are found in the United
States.
THE MELON.--This is the generic name for all the members of the
gourd tribe known as cantaloupes, muskmelons, and watermelons. The fruit
varies greatly in size and color, and in the character of the rind. When
fresh and perfectly ripe, melons are among the most delicious of edible
fruits.
THE FIG.--In the most ancient histories, the fig tree is referred
to as among the most desirable productions of the earth. It was the
only tree in the garden of Eden of which the Sacred Writings make
particular mention. Among the inhabitants of ancient Syria and Greece,
it formed one of the principal articles of food. Its cultivation was,
and is still, extensively carried on in nearly all Eastern countries;
also in Spain, Southern France, and some portions of the United States.
The fruit is pear-shaped, and consists of a pulpy mass full of little
seeds. Dried and compressed figs are largely imported, and are to be
found in all markets. Those brought from Smyrna are reputed to be the
best.
THE BANANA.--This is essentially a tropical fruit growing very
generally in the East, the West Indies, South American countries, and
some of the Southern States. The plant is an annual, sending up stems to
the height of ten or fifteen feet, while drooping from the top are
enormous leaves three or four feet in length, and looking, as one writer
has aptly said, like "great, green quill pens." It is planted in fields
like corn, which in its young growth it much resembles. Each plant
produces a single cluster of from eighty to one hundred or more bananas,
often weighing in the aggregate as high as seventy pounds. The banana is
exceedingly productive. According to Humboldt, a space of 1,000 feet,
which will yield only 38 pounds of wheat, or 462 pounds of potatoes,
will produce 4,000 pounds of bananas, and in a much shorter period of
time. It is more nutritious than the majority of fruits, and in tropical
countries is highly valued as a food, affording in some localities the
chief alimentary support of the people. Its great importance as a food
product is shown by the fact that three or four good sized bananas are
equal in nutritive value to a pound of bread. The amount of albumen
contained in a pound of bananas is about the same as that found in a
pound of rice, and the total nutritive value of one pound of bananas is
only a trifle less than that of an equal quantity of the best beefsteak.
The unripe fruit, which contains a considerable percentage of starch, is
often dried in the oven and eaten as bread, which, in this state, it
considerably resembles in taste and appearance. Thus prepared, it may be
kept for a long time, and is very serviceable for use on long journeys.
The variety of the banana thus used is, however, a much larger kind
than any of those ordinarily found in our Northern markets, and is known
as the plantain. The dried plantain, powdered, furnishes a meal of
fragrant odor and bland taste, not unlike common wheat flour. It is said
to be easy of digestion, and two pounds of the dry meal or six pounds of
the fruit is the daily allowance for a laborer in tropical America.
THE PINEAPPLE.--This delicious fruit is a native of South America,
where it grows wild in the forests. It is cultivated largely in tropical
America, the West Indies, and some portions of Europe. The fruit grows
singly from the center of a small plant having fifteen or more long,
narrow, serrated, ridged, sharp-pointed leaves, seemingly growing from
the root. In general appearance it resembles the century plant, though
so much smaller that twelve thousand pineapple plants may be grown on
one acre. From the fibers of the leaves is made a costly and valuable
fabric called _pina_ muslin.
Nothing can surpass the rich, delicate flavor of the wild pineapple as
found in its native habitat. It is in every way quite equal to the best
cultivated variety. The most excellent pineapples are imported from the
West Indies, but are seldom found in perfection in out Northern markets.
FRESH FRUIT FOR THE TABLE.
All fruit for serving should be perfectly ripe and sound. Immature fruit
is never wholesome, and owing to the large percentage of water in its
composition, fruit is very prone to change; hence over-ripe fruit should
not be eaten, as it is liable to ferment and decompose in the digestive
tract.
Fruit which has begun, however slightly, to decay, should be rejected.
Juice circulates through its tissues in much the same manner as the
blood circulates through animal tissues, though not so rapidly and
freely. The circulation is sufficient, however, to convey to all parts
the products of decomposition, when only a small portion has undergone
decay, and although serious results do not always follow the use of
such fruit, it certainly is not first-class food.
If intended to be eaten raw, fruit should be well ripened before
gathering, and should be perfectly fresh. Fruit that has stood day after
day in a dish upon the table, in a warm room, is far less wholesome and
tempting than that brought fresh from the storeroom or cellar. All
fruits should be thoroughly cleansed before serving. Such fruit as
cherries, grapes, and currants may be best washed by placing in a
colander, and dipping in and out of a pan of water until perfectly
clean, draining and drying before serving.
_DIRECTIONS FOR SERVING FRUITS._
APPLES.--In serving these, the "queen of all fruits," much
opportunity is afforded for a display of taste in their arrangement.
After wiping clean with a damp towel, they may be piled in a fruit
basket, with a few sprigs of green leaves here and there between their
rosy cheeks. The feathery tops of carrots and celery are pretty for this
purpose. Oranges and apples so arranged, make a highly ornamental dish.
Raw mellow sweet apples make a delicious dish when pared, sliced, and
served with cream.
BANANAS.--Cut the ends from the fruit and serve whole, piled in a
basket with oranges, grapes, or plums. Another way is to peel, slice,
and serve with thin cream. Bananas are also very nice sliced, sprinkled
lightly with sugar, and before it had quite dissolved, covered with
orange juice. Sliced bananas, lightly sprinkled with sugar, alternating
in layers with sections of oranges, make a most delicious dessert.
CHERRIES.--Serve on stems, piled in a basket or high dish, with
bits of green leaves and vines between. Rows of different colored
cherries, arranged in pyramidal form, make also a handsome dish.
CURRANTS.--Large whole clusters may be served on the stem, and when
it is possible to obtain both red and white varieties, they make a most
attractive dish. Put them into cold water for a little time, cool
thoroughly, and drain well before using. Currants, if picked from the
stems after being carefully washed and drained, may be served lightly
sprinkled with sugar. Currants and raspberries served together, half and
half, or one third currants two thirds raspberries, are excellent. Only
the ripest of currants should be used.
GOOSEBERRIES.--When fresh and ripe, the gooseberry is one of the
most delicious of small fruits. Serve with stems on. Drop into cold
water for a few moments, drain, and pile in a glass dish for the table.
GRAPES.--Grapes need always to be washed before serving. Drop the
bunches into ice water, let them remain ten of fifteen minutes, then
drain and serve. An attractive dish may be made by arranging bunches of
different colored grapes together on a plate edged with grape leaves.
MELONS.--Watermelons should be served very cold. After being well
washed on the outside, put on ice until needed. Cut off a slice at the
ends, that each half may stand upright on a plate, and then cut around
in even slices. Instead of cutting through the center into even halves,
the melon may be cut in points back and forth around the entire
circumference, so that when separated, each half will appear like a
crown. Another way is to take out the central portion with a spoon, in
cone-shaped pieces, and arrange on a plate with a few bits of ice. Other
melons may be served in halves, with the seeds removed. The rough skin
of the cantaloupe should be thoroughly scrubbed with a vegetable brush,
then rinsed and wiped, after which bury the melon in broken ice till
serving time; divide into eighths or sixteenths, remove the seeds,
reconstruct the melon, and serve surrounded with ice, on a folded
napkin, or arranged on a bed of grape leaves. Do not cool the melon by
placing ice upon the flesh, as the moisture injures the delicate flavor.
ORANGES.--Serve whole or cut the skin into eighths, halfway down,
separating it from the fruit, and curling it inward, thus showing half
the orange white and the other half yellow; or cut the skin into
eighths, two-thirds down, and after loosening from the fruit, leave them
spread open like the petals of a lily. Oranges sliced and mixed with
well ripened strawberries, in the proportion of three oranges to a quart
of berries, make--a palatable dessert.
PEACHES AND PEARS.--Pick out the finest, and wipe the wool from the
peaches. Edge a plate with uniform sized leaves of foliage plant of the
same tints as the fruit, and pile the fruit artistically upon it,
tucking sprays or tips of the plant between. Bits of ice may also be
intermingled. Yellow Bartlett pears and rosy-cheeked peaches arranged in
this way are most ornamental.
PEACHES AND CREAM.--Pare the peaches just as late as practicable,
since they become discolored by standing. Always use a silver knife, as
steel soon blackens and discolors the fruit. If sugar is to be used, do
not add it until the time for serving, as it will start the juice, and
likewise turn the fruit brown, destroying much of its rich flavor. Keep
on ice until needed for the table. Add cream with each person's dish.
PINEAPPLES.--The pineapple when fresh and ripened to perfection, is
as mellow and juicy as a ripe peach, and needs no cooking to fit it for
the table. Of course it must be pared, and have the eyes and fibrous
center removed. Then it may be sliced in generous pieces and piled upon
a plate, or cut into smaller portions and served in saucers. No
condiments are necessary; even the use of sugar detracts from its
delicate flavor. Pineapples found in our Northern markets are, however,
generally so hard and tough as to require cooking, or are valuable only
for their juice, which may be extracted and used for flavoring other
fruits. When sufficiently mellow to be eaten raw, they are usually so
tart as to seem to require a light sprinkling of sugar to suit most
tastes. Pineapples pared, cut into dice or small pieces, lightly
sprinkled with sugar, to which just before serving, a cup of orange
juice is added, form a delicious dish.
PLUMS.--Plums make a most artistic fruit piece, served whole and
arranged with bunches of choice green grapes, in a basket or glass dish.
A fine edge may be made from the velvety leaves of dark purple foliage
plants.
PRESSED FIGS.--Look over carefully, and select only such as are
perfectly good. They may be served dry, mixed with bunches of raisins,
or steamed over a kettle of boiling water. Steamed figs make an
excellent breakfast dish, and are considered much more wholesome then
when used dry. Steamed raisins are likewise superior to dried raisins.
RASPBERRIES, BLACKBERRIES, DEWBERRIES, BLUEBERRIES AND WHORTLEBERRIES,
require careful looking over to remove all insects, stems, and over-ripe
fruit. Blueberries and whortleberries frequently need to be washed. They
are then drained by spreading on a sieve or colander. Perfectly ripe,
they are more healthful without condiments; but sugar and cream are
usually considered indispensable.
If necessary to wash strawberries, they should be put into cold water, a
few at a time, pushed down lightly beneath the water several times until
entirely clean, then taken out one by one, hulled, and used at once.
Like all other small fruits and berries they are more wholesome served
without cream, but if cream is used, each person should be allowed to
add it to his own dish, as it quickly curdles and renders the whole dish
unsightly; if allowed to stand, it also impairs the flavor of the fruit.
FROSTED FRUIT.--Prepare a mixture of the beaten white of egg,
sugar, and a very little cold water. Dip nice bunches of clean currants,
cherries, or grapes into the mixture; drain nearly dry, and roll lightly
in powdered sugar. Lay them on white paper to dry. Plums, apricots, and
peaches may be dipped in the mixture, gently sprinkled with sugar, then
allowed to dry. This method of preparing fruit is not to be commended
for its wholesomeness, but it is sometimes desirable for ornament.
KEEPING FRESH FRUIT.
Of the numerous varieties of fruits grown in this country, apples and
pears are about the only ones that can be kept for any length of time
without artificial means. As soon as fruit has attained its maturity, a
gradual change or breaking down of tissues begins. In some fruits this
process follows rapidly; in other it is gradual. There is a certain
point at which the fruits are best suited for use. We call it
mellowness, and say that the fruit is in "good eating condition." When
this stage has been reached, deterioration and rotting soon follow. In
some fruits, as the peach, plum, and early varieties of apples and
pears, these changes occur within a few days after maturity, and it is
quite useless to attempt to keep them; in others, like the later
varieties of apples and pears, the changes are slow but none the less
certain. To keep such fruits we must endeavor to retard or prolong the
process of change, by avoiding all conditions likely to hasten decay.
Even with ordinary care, sound fruit will keep for quite a length of
time; but it can be preserved in better condition and for a longer
period by careful attention to the following practical points:--
1. If the fruit is of a late variety, allow it to remain on the tree as
long as practicable without freezing.
2. Always pick and handle the fruit with the greatest care.
3. Gather the fruit on a dry, cool day, and place in heaps or bins for
two or three weeks.
4. Carefully sort and pack in barrels, placing those most mellow and
those of different varieties in different barrels; head the barrels,
label, and place in a cool, dry place where the temperature will remain
equable. Some consider it better to keep fruit in thin layers upon broad
shelves in a cool place. This plan allows frequent inspection and
removal of all affected fruit without disturbance of the remainder.
5. Warmth and moisture are the conditions most favorable to
decomposition, and should be especially guarded against.
6. The best temperature for keeping fruit is about 34 deg. F., or 2 deg.
above freezing.
Another method which is highly recommended is to sprinkle a layer of
sawdust on the bottom of a box, and then put in a layer of apples, not
allowing them to tough each other. Upon this pack more sawdust; then
another layer of apples, and so on until the box is filled. After
packing, place up from the ground, in a cellar or storeroom, and they
will keep perfectly, retaining their freshness and flavor until brought
out. The _Practical Farmer_ gives the following rough but good way to
store and keep apples: "Spread plenty of buckwheat chaff on the barn
floor, and on this place the apples, filling the interstices with the
chaff. Cover with the chaff and then with straw two or three feet deep.
The advantage of this is that covering and bedding in chaff excludes
cold, prevents air currents, maintains a uniform temperature, absorbs
the moisture of decay, and prevents the decay produced by moisture."
The ordinary cellar underneath the dwelling house is too warm and damp
for the proper preservation of fruit, and some other place should be
provided if possible. A writer in the _American Agriculturist_ thus
calls attention to an additional reason why fruit should not be stored
beneath living-rooms: "After late apples are stored for the winter, a
gradual change begins within the fruit. It absorbs oxygen from the air
of the room, and gives off carbonic acid gas. Another change results in
the formation of water, which is given off as moisture. The taking up of
oxygen by the fruit and the giving off of carbonic acid, in a short time
so vitiates the atmosphere of the room in which the fruit is kept, that
it will at once extinguish a candle, and destroy animal life. An
atmosphere of this kind tends to preserve the fruit. There being little
or no oxygen left in the air of the room, the process of decay is
arrested. Hence it is desirable that the room be air tight, in order to
maintain such an atmosphere."
The production of carbonic acid shows that a cellar in or under a
dwelling, is an improper place for storing fresh fruit. When the gas is
present in the air in sufficient proportion, it causes death, and a very
small quantity will cause headache, listlessness, and other unpleasant
effects. No doubt many troubles attributed to malaria, are due to gases
from vegetables and fruits stored in the cellar. A fruit cellar should
be underneath some other building rather than the dwelling, or a fruit
house may be built entirely above the ground. A house to keep fruit
properly must be built upon the principle of a refrigerator. Its walls,
floor, and ceiling should be double, and the space between filled with
sawdust. The doors and windows should be double; and as light is
undesirable, the windows should be provided with shutters. There should
be a small stove for use if needed to keep a proper temperature in
severe weather.
TO KEEP GRAPES.--Select such bunches as are perfect, rejecting all
upon which there are any bruised grapes, or from which a grape has
fallen. Spread them upon shelves in a cool place for a week or two. Then
pack in boxes in sawdust which has been recently well dried in an oven.
Bran which has been dried may also be used. Dry cotton is employed by
some. Keep in a cool place.
Some consider the following a more efficient method: select perfect
bunches, and dip the broken end of the stems in melted paraffine or
sealing wax. Wrap separately in tissue paper, hang in a cool place, or
pack in sawdust.
TO KEEP LEMONS AND ORANGES.--Lemons may be kept fresh for weeks by
placing them in a vessel of cold water in a very cool cellar or ice
house. Change the water every day. Oranges may be kept in the same way.
The usual method employed by growers for keeping these fruits is to wrap
each one separately in tissue paper, and put in a cool, dry place.
TO KEEP CRANBERRIES.--Put them in water and keep in a cool place
where they will not freeze. Change the water often, and sort out berries
which may have become spoiled.
COOKED FRUIT.
Perfectly ripe fruit is, as a rule, more desirable used fresh than in
any other way. Fruits which are immature, require cooking. Stewing and
baking are the simplest methods of preparation.
GENERAL SUGGESTIONS FOR COOKING FRUIT.--The utensils for stewing
should be porcelain-lined, or granite ware. Fruit cooked in tin loses
much of its delicate flavor; while if it be acid, and the tin of poor
quality, there is always danger that the acid of the fruit acting upon
the metal will form a poisonous compound. Cover with a china plate or
granite-ware cover, never with a tin one, as the steam will condense and
run down into the kettle, discoloring the contents. Use only silver
knives for preparing the fruit, and silver or wooden spoons for
stirring. Prepare just before cooking, if you would preserve the fruit
perfect in flavor, and unimpaired by discoloration. In preparing apples,
pears, and quinces for stewing, it is better to divide the fruit into
halves or quarters before paring. The fruit is more easily handled, can
be pared thinner and cored more quickly. Peaches, apricots, and plums,
if divided and stoned before paring, can be much more easily kept whole.
Cook in a small quantity of boiling water, and if economy is a point to
be considered, do not add sugar until the fruit is done. Sugar boiled
with an acid will be converted into glucose, two and one half pounds of
which only equal one pound of cane sugar in sweetening properties. It
will require a much larger amount of sugar to sweeten fruit if added
before the cooking process is completed. Fruit should be cooked by
stewing, or by gentle simmering; hard boiling will destroy the fine
flavor of all fruits, and especially of berries and other small fruits.
Cinnamon, cloves, or other spices, should not be added, as their
stronger flavors deaden or obliterate the natural flavor, which should
always be preserved as perfectly as possible. If desirable to add some
foreign flavor, let it be the flavor of another fruit, or the perfume
of flowers. For Instance, flavor apple with lemon, pineapple, quince, or
rose water.
Unripe fruit is improved by making the cooking quite lengthy, which acts
in the place of the ripening process, changing the starchy matter to
saccharine elements. In cooking fruit, try to preserve its natural form.
The more nearly whole it is, the better it looks, and the more natural
will be its flavor.
Apples are best cooked by baking. Pears and quinces are also excellent
baked. The oven should be only moderately hot; if the heat is too great,
they brown on the outside before they are done throughout. In cooking
fruit by any method, pains should be taken to cook together such as are
of the same variety, size, and degree of hardness; if it is to be cut in
pieces, care should be taken to have the pieces of uniform size.
_RECIPES._
BAKED APPLES.--Moderately tart apples or very juicy sweet ones are
best for baking. Select ripe apples, free from imperfections, and of
nearly equal size. Wipe carefully and remove the blossom ends. Water
sufficient to cover bottom of the baking dish, should be added if the
fruit is not very juicy. If the apples are sour and quite firm, a good
way is to pare them before baking, and then place them in an earthen pie
dish with a little hot water. If they incline to brown too quickly,
cover the tops with a granite-ware pie dish. If the syrup dries out, add
a little more hot water. When done, set them away till nearly cold, then
transfer to a glass dish, pour the syrup, which should be thick and
amber colored, over them. Sour apples are excellent pared, cored, and
baked with the centers filled with sugar, jelly, or a mixture or chopped
raisins and dates. They should be put into a shallow earthen dish with
water sufficient to cover the bottom, and baked in a quick oven, basting
often with the syrup. Sweet apples are best baked without paring. Baked
apples are usually served as a relish, but with a dressing of cream they
make a most delicious dessert.
CITRON APPLES.--Select a few tart apples of the same degree of
hardness, and remove the cores. Unless the skins are very tender, it is
better to pare them. Fill the cavities with sugar, first placing in each
apple a few bits of chopped citron. If the skins have been removed,
place the stuffed apples on a flat earthen dish with a tablespoonful of
water on the bottom; cover closely, and bake till perfectly tender, but
not till they have fallen to pieces. If the skins are left on, they may
be baked without covering. When cold, serve in separate dishes, with or
without a spoonful or two of whipped cream on each apple.
LEMON APPLES.--Prepare tart apples the same as for citron apples.
Fill the cavities made by removing the cores with a mixture of grated
lemon and sugar, squeeze a few drops of lemon juice over each apple, and
bake. Serve with or without whipped cream.
BAKED PEARS.--Hard pears make an excellent dessert when baked.
Pare, halve, remove seeds, and place in a shallow earthen dish, with a
cup of water to each two quarts of fruit. If the pears are sour, a
little sugar may be added. Bake, closely covered, in a moderate oven
until tender. Serve with sugar and cream. Tart pears are the best for
baking, as the sweet varieties are often tasteless.
BAKED QUINCES.--Pare and remove the cores. Fill the cavities with
sugar, put in a shallow earthen dish, and add water to cover the bottom;
bake till soft, basting often with the syrup. If the syrup dries out
before the fruit is perfectly tender, add a little more hot water.
PIPPINS AND QUINCE.--Pare and quarter nice golden pippins, and cook
in boiling water until reduced to a jelly. Add two or three quinces
sliced, and simmer slowly in the jelly until the quince is tender. Add
sugar to taste. Serve cold.
BAKED APPLE SAUCE.--Pare, core, and quarter apples to fill an
earthen crock or deep pudding dish, taking care to use apples of the
same degree of hardness, and pieces of the same size. For two quarts of
fruit thus prepared, add a cup of water, and if the apples are sour, a
cup of sugar. Cover closely, and bake in a moderate oven several hours,
or until of a dark red color.
Sweet apples and quinces in the proportion of two parts of apple to one
of quince, baked in this way, are also good. Cut the apples into
quarters, but slice the quinces much thinner, as they are more difficult
to cook. Put a layer of quince on the bottom of the dish, alternating
with a layer of apple, until the dish is full. Add cold water to half
cover the fruit, and stew in the oven well covered, without stirring,
until tender.
Pears may be cooked in a similar way, and both apples and pears thus
cooked may be canned while hot and kept for a long period.
BAKED APPLE SAUCE NO. 2.--Prepare nice tart apples as for No. 1.
Bake, with a small quantity of water, in a covered pudding dish, in a
moderate oven, until soft. Mash with a spoon, add sugar, and when cold,
a little grated orange rind.
APPLES STEWED WHOLE.--Take six large red apples, wash carefully,
and put in a fruit kettle with just enough boiling water to cover. Cover
the kettle, and cook slowly until the apples are soft, with the skins
broken and the juice a rich red color. After removing the apples, boil
the juice to a syrup, sweeten, and pour over the apples.
STEAMED APPLES.--Select pound sweets of uniform size, wipe, cut
out the blossom-ends, and pack in a large pudding dish. Pour in a cupful
of water, cover the dish closely, set in a moderate oven, and steam till
the apples are tender. Remove from the dish, and pour the liquor over
them frequently as they cool.
COMPOTE OF APPLES.--Pare and extract the cores from moderately
tart, juicy apples. Place them in a deep pudding dish with just enough
water to cover them. Cover, place in a moderate oven, and stew until
they are tender. Remove the apples and place in a deep dish to keep hot.
Measure the juice and pour it into a saucepan, add a few bits of lemon
rind, and boil up until thickened almost like a jelly. While the juice
is boiling, heat some sugar, one tablespoonful to each cup of juice, in
the oven, and add to the juice when thickened. Pour scalding hot over
the apples, and cover until cold.
APPLE COMPOTE NO. 2.--Pare eight or ten rather tart, finely
flavored and easy-cooking apples, carefully removing the cores, and put
them into a broad, shallow, granite-ware saucepan with just enough hot
water to cover the bottom. Cover tightly and place over the fire. The
steam will cook the apples tender in a short time. Do not allow them to
fall to pieces. Make a syrup by dissolving one cup of sugar in a pint of
hot water. Add three teaspoonfuls of the juice of canned pineapple, and
pour over the apples while both are hot.
STEWED PEARS.--Select some fine Bartlett pears which are ripe, but
have hardly begun to soften; remove the skins, cut in halves or
quarters, and take out the seeds. Put loosely in a granite-ware kettle,
and add a pint of water for three and a half quarts of fruit. Cover
closely, and when it begins to boil, set it where it will just simmer
until the top pieces are tender. Serve cold. Sugar will not be necessary
if the fruit is of good quality.
SMOOTH APPLE SAUCE.--If fruit is not sufficiently perfect to be cut
into uniform quarters, a good way to prepare it is to pare, core, and
slice into thin slices. Cook in as small a quantity of water as
possible, the fruit covered closely, so that the top portion will steam
tender as soon as the bottom, and when done rub through a colander, or
beat smooth with a wooden spoon or an egg beater. Let it cool before
adding sugar. A little lemon peel may be added to the fruit just long
enough before it is done to flavor it, if desired.
BOILED APPLES WITH SYRUP.--Halve and remove the cores of a half
dozen nice apples, leaving the skins on. Boil till tender in sufficient
water to cover them. Take out with a fork into a glass dish. Add to the
juice three or four slices of a large lemon; boil for ten or fifteen
minutes; sweeten to taste; then pour over the apples, and cool.
STEWED APPLES.--Select fine fruit of a sub-acid flavor and not
over-ripe. Pare, remove the cores and all blemishes, and divide into
sixths if large, into quarters if small. Put into a porcelain or
granite-ware kettle with enough boiling water to cook and leave a good
liquor. Cover, and simmer gently, without stirring, from one to two
hours. Do not add sugar till cold. Be careful not to break the fruit in
serving.
STEWED CRAB APPLES.--Select perfect fruit. Wash and stew in but
little water until they are very soft. Rub through a coarse sieve or
colander to remove the seeds and skins. Sweeten to taste.
SWEET APPLE SAUCE WITH CONDENSED APPLE JUICE.--For the juice, wash,
divide, and core rather tart apples and cook until softened with one cup
of water for every six pounds of fruit. When soft, put into a percolater
and drain off the juice or extract it with a fruit press. Boil until it
is reduced one half. Skim if needed while boiling, and if not perfectly
clear allow it to settle before using. A considerable quantity of the
juice may be thus prepared and put into stone jars, to be used as
needed. For the sauce, pare, core, and quarter sweet apples. Put into a
porcelain kettle with enough of the condensed juice to cover. Cook
slowly until tender.
APPLES WITH RAISINS.--Pare, core, and quarter a dozen or more
medium sized sour apples. Clean thoroughly one fourth as many raisins as
apples, and turn over them a quart of boiling water. Let them steep
until well swollen, then add the apples, and cook until tender. Sugar to
sweeten may be added if desired, although little will be needed unless
the apples are very tart. Dried apples soaked over night may be made
much more palatable by stewing with raisins or English currants, in the
same way.
APPLES WITH APRICOTS.--Pare, core, and quarter some nice, sour
apples. Put them to cook with two halves of dried apricot for each
apple. When tender, make smooth by beating or rubbing through a
colander, and sweeten. Dried apples may be used in place of fresh ones.
PEACHES, PLUMS, CHERRIES, BERRIES, and all small fruits may be
cooked for sauce by stewing in a small amount of water, adding sugar to
sweeten when done.
BAKED APPLES.--Take any good tart apples; peel, cut in halves, and
remove the cores. Scatter a few spoonfuls of sugar in the bottom of a
dish, and lay the apples in, flat side down; add a teacupful of cold
water, and bake till tender. Let stand in the dish till cold, then take
up the pieces in a vegetable dish, and poor over them what juice
remains. Sweet apples are good baked in this way without sugar.
BAKED PEARS.--Peel ripe pears; cut in halves, and pack in layers in
a stone ware jar. Strew a little sugar over each layer, and add a small
cupful of water, to prevent burning. Cover tightly, and bake three or
four hours in a well-heated oven. Let them get very cold, and serve
with sweet cream.
BAKED PEACHES.--Peaches which are ripe but too hard for eating, are
nice baked. Pare, remove the stones, and place in loose layers in a
shallow, earthen pudding dish with a little water. Sprinkle each layer
lightly with sugar, cover and bake.
CRANBERRIES.--Cranberries make an excellent sauce, but the skins
are rather hard of digestion, and it is best to exclude them. Stew in
the proportion of a quart of berries to a pint of water, simmering
gently until the skins have all burst, and the quantity is reduced to a
pint. Put through a colander to remove the skins, and when nearly cool,
add for the quart of berries two thirds of a cup of sugar.
CRANBERRIES WITH RAISINS.--Cook the cranberries as in the preceding
recipe, and when rubbed through the colander, add for every pound of
cranberries before cooking, one fourth pound of raisins which have been
steeped for half an hour in just sufficient boiling water to cover. A
little less sugar will be needed to sweeten than when served without the
raisins.
CRANBERRIES AND SWEET APPLES.--Stew equal parts of cranberries and
sweet apples together. Mash, rub through a fine sieve or colander to
remove the skins and make the whole homogeneous. This makes a very
palatable sauce without the addition of sugar. California prunes and
cranberries stewed together in equal proportion, in a small quantity of
water, also make a nice sauce without sugar.
ORANGES AND APPLES.--The mild, easy cooking, tart varieties of
apples make an excellent sauce stewed with one third sliced oranges from
which the seeds have been removed. Pare, core, and slice the apples, and
cook gently so as to preserve the form of both fruits until the apples
are tender. Add sugar to sweeten, and if desired a very little of the
grated yellow of the orange rind.
STEWED RAISINS.--Soak a pint of good raisins, cleaned and freed
from stems, in cold water for several hours. When ready to cook, put
them, with the water in which they were soaked, in a fruit kettle and
simmer until the skins are tender. Three or four good-sized figs,
chopped quite fine, cooked with the raisins, gives an additional
richness and thickness of juice. No sugar will be needed.
DRIED APPLES.--Good apples properly dried make a very palatable
sauce; but unfortunately the fruit generally selected for drying is of
so inferior a quality that if cooked in its fresh state it would not be
good. The dried fruit in most of our markets needs to be looked over
carefully, and thoroughly washed before using. Put into a granite-ware
kettle, cover with boiling water, and cook gently until tender. Fresh
steam-dried or evaporated apples will cook in from one half to three
fourths of an hour; if older, they may require from one to two more
hours. Add boiling water, as needed, during the cooking. If when tender
they are lacking in juice, add a little boiling water long enough before
lifting from the fire to allow it to boil up once. If the fruit is very
poor, a few very thin slices of the yellow portion of lemon or orange
rind added a half hour before it is done, will sometimes be an
improvement.
DRIED APPLES WITH OTHER DRIED FRUIT.--An excellent sauce may be
made by cooking a few dried plums with dried or evaporated apples. Only
enough of the plums to give a flavor to the apples will be needed; a
handful of the former to a pound of apples will be sufficient. Dried
cherries, raisins, English currants, dried apricots, prunelles, and
peaches are also excellent used in combination with dried apples.
DRIED APRICOTS AND PEACHES.--These fruits, if dried with the skins
on, need, in addition to the preparation for cooking recommended for
dried apples, a thorough rubbing with the fingers, while being washed,
to remove the down. Put into boiling water in about the proportion of
two parts of fruit to three of water. If the fruit was pared before
drying, a little more water will be required. Cook quickly, but gently,
until just tender, and take from the fire as soon as done. If too soft,
they will be mushy and insipid.
EVAPORATED PEACH SAUCE.--Soak the peaches over night in just enough
water to cover. In the morning put to cook in boiling water. When
tender, sweeten and beat perfectly smooth with an egg beater.
DRIED PEARS.--These may be treated in the same way as dried apples.
SMALL FRUITS.--These when dried must be carefully examined,
thoroughly washed, and then cooked rather quickly in boiling water. They
swell but little, do not require much water, and usually cook in a few
minutes. They should be taken from the fire as soon as soft, as long
standing makes them insipid.
PRUNES.--Use only the best selected prunes. Clean by putting them
into warm water; let them stand a few minutes, rubbing them gently
between the hands to make sure that all dust and dirt is removed; rinse,
and if rather dry and hard, put them into three parts of water to one of
prunes; cover closely, and let them simmer for several hours. If the
prunes are quite easily cooked, less water may be used. They will be
tender, with a thick juice. The sweet varieties need no sugar whatever.
Many persons who cannot eat fruit cooked with sugar, can safely partake
of sweet prunes cooked in this way. A slice of lemon added just before
the prunes are done, is thought an improvement.
PRUNE MARMALADE.--Cook sweet California prunes as directed above.
When well done, rub through a colander to remove the skins and stones.
No sugar is necessary. If the pulp is too thin when cold, it may be
covered in an earthen pudding dish and stewed down by placing in a pan
of hot water in a moderate oven.
THE PRESERVATION OF FRUIT.
Fresh fruit is so desirable, while at the same time the season during
which most varieties can be obtained is so transient, that various
methods are resorted to for preserving it in as nearly a natural state
as possible. The old-fashioned plans of pickling in salt, alcohol, or
vinegar, or preserving in equal quantities of sugar, are eminently
unhygienic. Quite as much to be condemned is the more modern process of
keeping fruit by adding to it some preserving agent, like salicylic acid
or other chemicals. Salicylic acid is an antiseptic, and like many other
substances, such as carbolic acid, creosote, etc., has the power of
preventing the decay of organic substances. Salicylic acid holds the
preference over other drugs of this class, because it imparts no
unpleasant flavor to the fruit. It is nevertheless a powerful and
irritating drug, and when taken, even in small doses, produces intense
burning in the stomach, and occasions serious disturbances of the heart
and other organs. Its habitual use produces grave diseases.
What is sold as antifermentive is simply the well-known antiseptic,
salicylate of soda. It should be self-evident to one at all acquainted
with the philosophy of animal existence, that an agent which will
prevent fermentation and decay must be sufficiently powerful in its
influence to prevent digestion also.
The fermentation and decay of fruits as well as that of all other
organic substances, is occasioned by the action of those minute living
organisms which scientists call germs, and which are everywhere present.
These germs are very much less active in a dry, cold atmosphere, and
fruit may be preserved for quite a long period by refrigeration, an
arrangement whereby the external air is excluded, and the surrounding
atmosphere kept at an equal temperature of about 40 deg. F. The most
efficient and wholesome method of preserving fruit, however, is
destruction of the germs and entire exclusion from the air. The germs
are destroyed at a boiling temperature; hence, if fruit be heated to
boiling, and when in this condition sealed in air-tight receptacles, it
will keep for an unlimited period.
CANNING FRUIT.
Canning consists in sealing in air-tight cans or jars, fruit which has
been previously boiled. It is a very simple process, but requires a
thorough understanding of the scientific principles involved, and
careful management, to make it successful. The result of painstaking
effort is so satisfactory, however, it is well worth all the trouble,
and fruit canning need not be a difficult matter if attention is given
to the following details:--
Select self-sealing glass cans of some good variety. Tin cans give more
trouble filling and sealing, are liable to affect the flavor of the
fruit, and unless manufactured from the best of material, to impair its
wholesomeness. Glass cans may be used more than once, and are thus much
more economical. Those with glass covers, or porcelain-lined covers, are
best. Test the cans to see if they are perfect, with good rubbers and
covers that fit closely, by partly filling them with cold water,
screwing on the tops, and placing bottom upward upon the table for some
time before using. If none of the water leaks out, they may be
considered in good condition. If the cans have been previously used,
examine them with special care to see that both cans and covers have
been carefully cleaned, then thoroughly sterilize them, and fit with new
rubbers when necessary.
Cans and covers should be sterilized by boiling in water for half an
hour, or by baking in an oven, at a temperature sufficient to scorch
paper, for two hours. The cans should be placed in the water or oven
when cold, and the temperature allowed to rise gradually, to avoid
breaking. They should be allowed to cool gradually, for the same
purpose.
Select only the best of fruit, such as is perfect in flavor and neither
green nor over-ripe. Fruit which has been shipped from a distance, and
which is consequently not perfectly fresh, contains germs in active
growth, and if the least bit musty, it will be almost sure to spoil,
even though the greatest care may be taken in canning.
Poor fruit will not be improved by canning; over-ripe fruit will be
insipid and mushy; and though cooking will soften hard fruit, it cannot
impart to it the delicate flavors which belong to that which is in its
prime. The larger varieties of fruit should not be quite soft enough for
eating. Choose a dry day for gathering, and put up at once, handling as
little as possible. Try to keep it clean enough to avoid washing. If the
fruit is to be pared, use a silver knife for the purpose, as steel is
apt to discolor the fruit. If the fruit is one needing to be divided or
stoned, it will be less likely to become broken if divided before
paring.
Cook the fruit slowly in a porcelain-lined or granite-ware kettle, using
as little water as possible. It is better to cook only small quantities
at a time in one kettle. Steaming in the cans is preferable to stewing,
where the fruit is at all soft. To do this, carefully fill the cans with
fresh fruit, packing it quite closely, if the fruit is large, and set
the cans in a boiler partly filled with cold water, with something
underneath them to prevent breaking,--muffin rings, straw, or thick
cloth, or anything to keep them from resting on the bottom of the boiler
(a rack made by nailing together strips of lath is very convenient);
screw the covers on the cans so the water cannot boil into them, but not
so tightly as to prevent the escape of steam; heat the water to boiling,
and steam the fruit until tender. Peaches, pears, crab apples, etc., to
be canned with a syrup, may be advantageously cooked by placing on a
napkin dropped into the boiling syrup.
Fruit for canning should be so thoroughly cooked that every portion of
it will have been subjected to a sufficient degree of heat to destroy
all germs within the fruit, but overcooking should be avoided. The
length of time required for cooking fruits for canning, varies with the
kind and quality of fruit and the manner of cooking. Fruit is more
frequently spoiled by being cooked an insufficient length of time, than
by overcooking. Prolonged cooking at a boiling temperature is necessary
for the destruction of certain kinds of germs capable of inducing
fermentation. Fifteen minutes may be considered as the shortest time for
which even the most delicate fruits should be subjected to the
temperature of boiling water, and thirty minutes will be required by
most fruits. Fruits which are not perfectly fresh, or which have been
shipped some distance, should be cooked not less than thirty minutes.
The boiling should be very slow, however, as hard, rapid boiling will
break up the fruit, and much of its fine flavor will be lost in the
steam.
Cooking the sugar with the fruit at the time of canning, is not to be
recommended from an economical standpoint; but fruit thus prepared is
more likely to keep well than when cooked without sugar; not, however,
because of the preservative influence of the sugar, which is too small
in amount to prevent the action of germs, as in the case of preserves,
but because the addition of sugar to the water or fruit juice increases
its specific gravity, and thus raises the boiling point. From
experiments made, I have found that the temperature of the fruit is
ordinarily raised about 5 deg. by the addition of the amount of sugar
needed for sweetening sub-acid fruit. By the aid of this additional
degree of heat, the germs are more certainly destroyed, and the
sterilization of the fruit will be accomplished in a shorter time.
Another advantage gained in cooking sugar with the fruit at the time of
canning, is that the fruit may be cooked for a longer time without
destroying its form, as the sugar abstracts the juice of the fruit, and
thus slightly hardens it and prevents its falling in pieces.
The temperature to which the fruit is subjected may also be increased by
the same method as that elsewhere described for sterilizing milk, the
covers of the cans being screwed down tightly before they are placed in
the sterilizer, or as soon as the boiling point is approached, so that
the steam issues freely from the can. See page 396. If this method is
employed, it must be remembered that the cans should not be removed from
the sterilizer until after they have become cold, or nearly so, by being
allowed to stand over night.
Use the best sugar, two tablespoonfuls to a quart of fruit is
sufficient for most sub-acid fruits, as berries and peaches; plums,
cherries, strawberries, and currants require from five to eight
tablespoonfuls of sugar to a quart. Have the sugar hot, by spreading it
on tins and heating in the oven, stirring occasionally. See that; it
does not scorch. Add it when the fruit is boiling. Pears, peaches,
apples, etc., which contain a much smaller quantity of juice than do
berries, may be canned in a syrup prepared by dissolving a cup of sugar
in two or three cups of water. Perfect fruit, properly canned, will keep
without sugar, and the natural 'flavor of the fruit is more perfectly
retained when the sugar is left out, adding the necessary amount when
opened for use.
If the fruit is to be cooked previous to being put in the cans, the cans
should be heated before the introduction of the fruit, which should be
put in at a boiling temperature. Various methods are employed for this
purpose. Some wrap the can in a towel wrung out of hot water, keeping a
silver spoon inside while it is being filled; others employ dry heat by
keeping the cans in a moderately hot oven while the fruit is cooking.
Another and surer way is to fill a large dishpan nearly full of scalding
(not boiling) water, then gradually introduce each can, previously
baked, into the water, dip it full of water, and set it right side up in
the pan. Repeat the process with other cans until four or five are
ready. Put the covers likewise into boiling water. Have in readiness for
use a granite-ware funnel and dipper, also in boiling water; a cloth for
wiping the outside of the cans, a silver fork or spoon, a dish for
emptyings, and a broad shallow pan on one side of the range, half filled
with boiling water, in which to set the cans while being filled. When
everything is in readiness, the fruit properly cooked, and _at a boiling
temperature,_ turn one of the cans down in the water, roll it over once
or twice, empty it, and set in the shallow pan of hot water; adjust the
funnel, and then place first in the can a quantity of juice, so that
when the fruit is put in, no vacant places will be left for air, which
is sometimes quite troublesome if this precaution is not taken; then
add the fruit. If any bubbles of air chance to be left, work them out
with a fork or spoon handle, which first dip in boiling water, and then
quickly introduce down the sides of the jar and through the fruit in
such a way that not a bubble will remain. Fill the can to overflowing,
remembering that any vacuum invites the air to enter; use boiling water
or syrup when there is not enough juice. Skim all froth from the fruit,
adding more juice if necessary; wipe the juice from the top of the can,
adjust the rubber, put on the top, and screw it down as quickly as
possible. If the fruit is cooked in the cans, as soon as it is
sufficiently heated, fill the can completely full with boiling juice,
syrup, or water; run the handle of a silver spoon around the inside of
the can, to make sure the juice entirely surrounds every portion of
fruit, and that no spaces for air remain, put on the rubbers, wipe off
all juice, and seal quickly.
[Illustration: Canning Utensils.]
As the fruit cools, the cover can be tightened, and this should be
promptly done again and again as the glass contracts, so that no air may
be allowed to enter.
If convenient to fill the cans directly from the stove, the fruit may be
kept at boiling heat by placing the kettle on a lamp stove on the table,
on which the other utensils are in readiness. Many failures in fruit
canning are due to neglect to have the fruit boiling hot when put into
the cans.
When the cans are filled, set them away from currents of air, and not on
a very cold surface, to avoid danger of cracking. A good way is to set
the cans on a wet towel, and cover with a woolen cloth as a protection
from draughts.
After the cans have cooled, and the tops have been screwed down tightly,
place them in a cool place, bottom upward, and watch closely for a few
days. If the juice begins to leak out, or any appearance of fermentation
is seen, it is a sign that the work has failed, and the only thing to do
is to open the can immediately, boil the fruit, and use as quickly as
possible; recanning will not save it unless boiled a long time. If no
signs of spoiling are observed within two or three weeks, the fruit may
be safely stored away in a dark, cool place. If one has no dark
storeroom, it is an advantage to wrap each can in brown paper, to keep
out the light.
Sometimes the fruit will settle so that a little space appears at the
top. If you are perfectly sure that the can is tight, do not open to
refill, as you will be unable to make it quite as tight again, unless
you reheat the fruit, in which case you would be liable to have the same
thing occur again. Air is dangerous because it is likely to contain
germs, though in itself harmless.
If mold is observed upon the top of a can, it should be opened, and the
fruit boiled and used at once, after carefully skimming out all the
moldy portions. If there is evidence of fermentation, the fruit should
be thrown away, as it contains alcohol.
If care be taken to provide good cans, thoroughly sterilized, and with
perfectly fitting covers; to use only fruit in good condition; to have
it thoroughly cooked, and at boiling temperature when put into the can;
to have the cans well baked and heated, filled completely and to
overflowing, and sealed at once while the fruit is still near boiling
temperature, there will be little likelihood of failure.
OPENING CANNED FRUIT.--Canned fruit is best opened a short time
before needed, that is may be will aerated; and if it has been canned
without sugar, it should have the necessary quantity added, so that it
may be well dissolved before using.
Fruit purchased in tin cans should be selected with the utmost care,
since unscrupulous dealers sometimes use cans which render the fruit
wholly--unfit for food.
The following rules which we quote from a popular scientific journal
should be 'carefully observed in selecting canned fruit:--
"Reject every can that does not have the name of the manufacturer or
firm upon it, as well as the name of the company and the town where
manufactured. All 'Standards' have this. When the wholesale dealer is
ashamed to have his name on the goods, be shy of him.
"Reject every article of canned goods which does not show the line of
resin around the edge of the solder of the cap, the same as is seen on
the seam at the side of the can.
"Press up the bottom of the can; if decomposition is beginning, the tin
will rattle the same as the bottom of your sewing-machine oil can does.
If the goods are sound, it will be solid, and there will be no rattle to
the tin.
"Reject every can that show any rust around the cap on the inside of the
head of the can. Old and battered cans should be rejected; as, if they
have been used several times, the contents are liable to contain small
amounts of tin or lead"
_RECIPES._
TO CAN STRAWBERRIES.--These are generally considered more difficult
to can than most other berries. Use none but sound fruit, and put up the
day they are picked, if possible. Heat the fruit slowly to the boiling
point, and cook fifteen minutes or longer, adding the sugar hot, if any
be used, after the fruit is boiling. Strawberries, while cooking, have a
tendency to rise to the top, and unless they are kept poshed down, will
not be cooked uniformly, which is doubtless one reason they sometimes
fail to keep well. The froth should also be kept skimmed off. Fill the
cans as directed on page 197, taking special care to let out every air
bubble, and to remove every particle of froth from the top of the can
before sealing. If the berries are of good size, the may be cooked in
the cans, adding a boiling syrup prepared with one cup of water and one
of sugar for each quart can of fruit.
If after the cans are cold, the fruit rises to the top, as it frequently
does, take the cans and gently shake until the fruit is well saturated
with the juice and falls by its own weight to the bottom, or low enough
to be entirely covered with the liquid.
TO CAN RASPBERRIES, BLACKBERRIES, AND OTHER SMALL FRUITS.--Select
none but good, sound berries; those freshly picked are best; reject any
green, over-ripe, mashed, or worm-eaten fruit. If necessary to wash the
berries, do so by putting a quart at a time in a colander, and dipping
the dish carefully into a pan of clean water, letting it stand for a
moment. If the water is very dirty, repeat the process in a second
water. Drain thoroughly, and if to be cooked previous to putting in the
cans, put into a porcelain kettle with a very small quantity of water,
and heat slowly to boiling. If sugar is to be used, have it hot, but do
not add it until the fruit is boiling; and before doing so, if there is
much juice, dip out the surplus, and leave the berries with only a small
quantity, as the sugar will have a tendency to draw out more juice, thus
furnishing plenty for syrup.
Raspberries are so juicy that they need scarcely more than a pint of
water to two quarts of fruit.
The fruit may be steamed in the cans if preferred. When thoroughly
scalded, if sugar is to be used, fill the can with a boiling syrup made
by dissolving the requisite amount of sugar in water; if to be canned
without sugar, fill up the can with boiling water or juice.
Seal the fruit according to directions previously given.
TO CAN GOOSEBERRIES.--Select such as are smooth and turning red,
but not fully ripe; wash and remove the stems and blossom ends. For
three quarts of fruit allow one quart of water. Heat slowly to boiling;
cook fifteen minutes, add a cupful of sugar which has been heated dry
in the oven: boil two or three minutes longer, and can.
TO CAN PEACHES.--Select fruit which is perfectly ripe and sound,
but not much softened. Free-stone peaches are the best. Put a few at a
time in a wire basket, and dip into boiling water for a moment, and then
into cold water, to cool fruit sufficiently to handle with comfort. The
skins may then be rubbed or peeled off easily, if done quickly, and the
fruit divided into halves; or wipe with a clean cloth to remove all dirt
and the wool, and with a silver knife cut in halves, remove the stone,
and then pare each piece, dropping into cold water at once to prevent
discoloration. Peaches cut before being pared are less likely to break
in pieces while removing the stones. When ready, pour a cupful of water
in the bottom of the kettle, and fill with peaches, scattering sugar
among the layers in the proportion of a heaping tablespoonful to a quart
of fruit. Heat slowly, boil fifteen minutes or longer till a silver fork
can be easily passed through the pieces; can in the usual way and seal;
or, fill the cans with the halved peaches, and place them in a boiler of
warm water with something underneath to avoid breaking; cook until
perfectly tender. Have ready a boiling syrup prepared with one half cup
of sugar and two cups of water, and pour into each can all that it will
hold, remove air bubbles, cover and seal. A few of the pits may be
cooked in the syrup, and removed before adding to the fruit, when their
special flavor is desired.
ANOTHER METHOD.--After paring and halving the fruit, lay a clean napkin
in the bottom of a steamer; fill with fruit. Steam until a fork will
easily penetrate the pieces. Have ready a boiling syrup prepared as
directed above, put a few spoonfuls in the bottom of the hot cans, and
dip each piece of fruit gently in the hot syrup; then as carefully place
it in the jars. Fill with the syrup, and finish in the usual way.
Peaches canned without sugar, retain more nearly their natural flavor.
To prepare in this way, allow one half pint of water to each pound of
fruit. Cook slowly until tender, and can in the usual manner. When
wanted for the table, open an hour before needed, and sprinkle lightly
with sugar.
TO CAN PEARS.--The pears should be perfectly ripened, but not soft.
Pare with a silver knife, halve or quarter, remove the seeds and drop
into a pan of cold water to prevent discoloration. Prepare a syrup,
allowing a cup of sugar and a quart of water to each two quarts of
fruit. When the syrup boils, put the pears into it very carefully, so as
not to bruise or break them, and cook until they look clear and can be
easily pierced with a fork. Have the cans heated, and put in first a
little of the syrup, then pack in the pears very carefully; fill to
overflowing with the scalding syrup, and finish as previously directed.
The tougher and harder varieties of pears must be cooked till nearly
tender in hot water, or steamed over a kettle of boiling water, before
adding to the syrup, and may then be finished as above. If it is
desirable to keep the pears whole, cook only those of a uniform size
together; or if of assorted sizes, put the larger ones into the syrup a
few minutes before the smaller ones. Some prefer boiling the kins of the
pears in the water of which the syrup is to be made, and skimming them
out before putting in the sugar. This is thought to impart a finer
flavor. Pears which are very sweet, or nearly tasteless, may be improved
by using the juice of a large lemon for each quart of syrup. Pears may
be cooked in the cans, if preferred.
TO CAN PLUMS.--Green Gages and Damsons are best for canning. Wipe
clean with a soft cloth. Allow a half cup of water and the same of sugar
to every three quarts of fruit, in preparing a syrup. Pick each plum
with a silver fork to prevent it from bursting, and while the syrup is
heating, turn in the fruit, and boil until thoroughly done. Dip
carefully into hot jars, fill with syrup, and cover immediately.
TO CAN CHERRIES.--These may be put up whole in the same way as
plums, or pitted and treated as directed for berries, allowing about two
quarts of water and a scant pint of sugar to five quarts of solid fruit,
for the tart varieties, and not quite half as much sugar for the sweeter
ones.
TO CAN MIXED FRUIT.--There are some fruits with so little flavor
that when cooked they are apt to taste insipid, and are much improved by
canning with some acid or strongly flavored fruits.
Blackberries put up with equal quantities of blue or red plums, or in
the proportion of one to three of the sour fruit, are much better than
either of these fruits canned separately. Black caps are much better if
canned with currants, in the proportion of one part currants to four of
black caps.
Red and black raspberries, cherries and raspberries, are also excellent
combinations.
QUINCES WITH APPLES.--Pare and cut an equal quantity of firm sweet
apples and quinces. First stew the quinces till they are tender in
sufficient water to cover. Take them out, and cook the apples in the
same water. Lay the apples and quinces in alternate layers in a
porcelain kettle or crock. Have ready a hot syrup made with one part
sugar to two and a half parts water, pour over the fruit, and let it
stand all night. The next day reheat to boiling, and can.
Quinces and sweet apples may be canned in the same way as directed below
for plums and sweet apples, using equal parts of apples and quinces, and
adding sugar when opened.
PLUMS WITH SWEET APPLES.--Prepare the plums, and stew in water
enough to cover. When tender, skim out, add to the juice an equal
quantity of quartered sweet apples, and stew until nearly tender. Add
the plumbs again, boil together for a few minutes, and can. When wanted
for the table, open, sprinkle with sugar if any seems needed, let stand
awhile and serve.
TO CAN GRAPES.--Grapes have so many seeds that they do not form a
very palatable sauce when canned entire. Pick carefully from the stems,
wash in a colander the same as directed for berries, and drain. Remove
the skins, dropping them into one earthen crock and the pulp into
another. Place both crocks in kettles of hot water over the stove, and
heat slowly, stirring the pulp occasionally until the seeds will come
out clean.
Then rub the pulp through a colander, add the skins to it, and a cupful
of sugar for each quart of pulp. Return to the fire, boil twenty minutes
until the skins are tender, and can; or, if preferred, the whole grapes
may be heated, and when well scalded so that the seeds are loosened,
pressed through a colander, thus rejecting both seeds and skins, boiled,
then sweetened if desired, and canned.
TO CAN CRAB APPLES.--These may be cooked whole, and canned the same
way as plums.
TO CAN APPLES.--Prepare and can the same as pears, when fresh and
fine in flavor. If old and rather tasteless, the following is a good
way:--several thin slices of the yellow part of the rind, four cups of
sugar, and three pints of boiling water. Pare and quarter the apples, or
if small, only halve them, and cook gently in a broad-bottomed
closely-covered saucepan, with as little water as possible, till tender,
but not broken; then pour the syrup over them, heat all to boiling, and
can at once. The apples may be cooked by steaming over a kettle of hot
water, if preferred. Care must be taken to cook those of the same degree
of hardness together. The slices of lemon rind should be removed from
the syrup before using.
TO CAN PINEAPPLES.--The writer has had no experience in canning
this fruit, but the following method is given on good authority: Pare
very carefully with a silver knife, remove all the "eyes" and black
specks; then cut the sections in which the "eyes" were, in solid pieces
clear down to the core. By doing this all the valuable part of the fruit
is saved, leaving its hard, woody center. As, however, this contains
considerable juice, it should be taken in the hands and wrung as one
wrings a cloth, till the juice is extracted, then thrown away. Prepare a
syrup with one part sugar and two parts water, using what juice has been
obtained in place of so much water. Let it boil up, skim clean, then add
the fruit. Boil just as little as possible and have the fruit tender, as
pineapples loses its flavor by overcooking more readily than any other
fruit. Put into hot cans, and seal.
FRUIT JELLIES.
The excess of sugar commonly employed in preparing jellies often renders
them the least wholesome of fruit preparations, and we cannot recommend
our readers to spend a great amount of time in putting up a large stock
of such articles.
The juice of some fruits taken at the right stage of maturity may be
evaporated to a jelly without sugar, but the process is a more lengthy
one, and requires a much larger quantity of juice than when sugar is
used.
Success in the preparation of fruit jellies depends chiefly upon the
amount of pectose contained in the fruit. Such fruits as peaches,
cherries, and others containing but a small proportion of pectose,
cannot be made into a firm jelly. All fruit for jelly should, if
possible, be freshly picked, and before it is over-ripe, as it has then
a much better flavor. The pectose, the jelly-producing element,
deteriorates with age, so that jelly made from over-ripe fruit is less
certain to "form." If the fruit is under-ripe, it will be too acid to
give a pleasant flavor. Examine carefully, as for canning, rejecting all
wormy, knotty, unripe, or partially decayed fruit. If necessary to wash,
drain very thoroughly.
Apples, quinces, and similar fruits may require to be first cooked in a
small amount of water. The juice of berries, currants, and grapes, may
be best extracted by putting the fruit in a granite-ware double boiler,
or a covered earthen crock placed inside a kettle of boiling water,
mashing as much as possible with a spoon, and steaming without the
addition of water until the fruit is well scalded and broken.
For straining the juice, have a funnel-shaped bag made of coarse flannel
or strong, coarse linen crash. The bag will be found more handy if a
small hoop of wire is sewn around the top and two tapes attached to hang
it by while the hot juice is draining, or a wooden frame to support the
bag may be easily constructed like the one shown on page 74. A dish to
receive the juice should be placed underneath the bag, which should
first be wrung out of hot water, and the scalded fruit, a small quantity
at a time, turned in; then with two large spoons press the sides of the
bag well, moving the fruit around in the bag to get out all the juice,
and removing the pressed pulp and skins each time before putting in a
fresh supply of the hot fruit. If a very clear jelly is desired, the
juice must be allowed to drain out without pressing or squeezing. The
juice of berries, grapes, and currants may be extracted without the
fruit being first scalded, if preferred, by putting the fruit into an
earthen or granite-ware dish, and mashing well with a wooden potato
masher, then putting into a jelly bag and allowing the juice to drain
off for several hours.
When strained, if the jelly is to be prepared with sugar, measure the
juice and pour it into a granite or porcelain fruit kettle with a very
broad bottom, so that as much surface can be on the stove possible. It
is better to boil the juice in quantities of not more than two or three
quarts at a time, unless one has some utensil in which a larger quantity
can be cooked with no greater depth of liquid than the above quantity
would give in a common fruit kettle. The purpose of the boiling is to
evaporate the water from the juice, and this can best be accomplished
before the sugar is added. The sugar, if boiled with the juice, also
darkens the jelly.
The average length of time required for boiling the juice of most
berries, currants, and grapes, extracted as previously directed, before
adding the sugar, is twenty minutes from the time it begins to bubble
all over its surface. It is well to test the jelly occasionally,
however, by dropping a small quantity on a plate to cool, since the
quantity of juice and the rapidity with which it is boiled, may
necessitate some variation in time. In wet season, fruits of all kinds
absorb more moisture and a little longer boiling may be necessary. The
same is true of the juice of fruits gathered after a heavy rain. Jellies
prepared with sugar are generally made of equal measures of juice,
measured before boiling, and sugar; but a very scant measure of sugar is
sufficient, and a less amount will suffice for many fruits. White
granulated sugar is best for all jellies. While the juice is heating,
spread the sugar evenly on shallow tins, and heat in the oven, stirring
occasionally to keep it from scorching. If portions melt, no great harm
will be done, as the melted portions will form in lumps when turned into
the juice, and can be removed with a spoon. When the juice has boiled
twenty minutes, turn in the sugar, which should be so hot that the hand
cannot be borne in it with comfort, stirring rapidly until it is all
dissolved. Let the syrup boil again for three or four minutes, then take
immediately from the fire. Heat the jelly glasses (those with glass
covers are best), by rolling in hot water, and place them in a shallow
pan partially filled with hot water, or stand them on a wet, folded
towel while filling. If it is desired to have the jelly exceptionally
clear and nice, it may be turned through a bag of cheese cloth,
previously wrung out of hot water, into the jelly glasses. If the covers
of the glasses are not tight fitting, a piece of firm paper should be
fitted over the top before putting on the cover, to make it air tight.
Pint self-sealing fruit cans are excellent for storing jelly, and if it
is sealed in them in the same manner as canned fruit, will keep
perfectly, and obviate any supposed necessity for the use of brandied
paper as a preservative measure. Label each variety, and keep in some
cool, dry place. If the jelly is not sufficiently firm when first made,
set the glasses in the sunshine for several days, until the jelly
becomes more firm. This is better than reheating and boiling again, as
it destroys less of the flavor of the fruit.
_RECIPES._
APPLE JELLY.--Cut nice tart apples in quarters, but unless wormy,
do not peel or core. Put into a porcelain kettle with a cup of water for
each six pounds of fruit, and simmer very slowly until the apples are
thoroughly cooked. Turn into a jelly-bag, and drain off the juice. If
very tart, allow three fourths of a pound of sugar to each pint of
juice. If sub-acid, one half pound will be sufficient. Put the sugar
into the oven to heat. Clean the kettle, and boil the juice therein
twenty minutes after it begins to boil thoroughly. Add the sugar,
stirring until well dissolved, let it boil up once again, and remove
from the fire. The juice of one lemon may be used with the apples, and a
few bits of lemon rind, the yellow portion only, cooked with them to
give them a flavor, if liked. One third cranberry juice makes a pleasing
combination.
APPLE JELLY WITHOUT SUGAR.--Select juicy, white fleshed, sub-acid
fruit, perfectly sound and mature but not mellow. The snow apple is one
of the best varieties for this purpose. Wash well, slice, and core
without removing the skins, and cook as directed in the preceding
recipe. Drain off the juice, and if a very clear jelly is desired,
filter it through a piece of cheese cloth previously wrung out of hot
water. Boil the juice,--rapidly at first, but more gently as it becomes
thickened,--until of the desired consistency. The time required will
vary with the quantity of juice, the shallowness of the dish in which it
is boiled, and the heat employed. One hour at least, will be required
for one or two quarts of juice. When the juice has become considerably
evaporated, test it frequently by dipping a few drops on a plate to
cool; and when it jellies sufficiently, remove at once from the fire. A
much larger quantity of juice will be needed for jelly prepared in this
manner than when sugar is used, about two quarts of juice being required
for one half pint of jelly. Such jelly, however, has a most delicious
flavor, and is excellent served with grains. Diluted with water, it
forms a most pleasing beverage.
BERRY AND CURRANT JELLIES.--Express the juice according to the
directions already given. For strawberries, red raspberries, and
currants, allow three fourths of a pound of sugar to a pint of juice.
Black raspberries, if used alone, need less sugar. Strawberry and black
raspberry juice make better jelly if a little lemon juice is used. The
juice of one lemon to each pint of fruit juice will be needed for black
raspberries. Two parts red or black raspberries with one part currants,
make a better jelly than either alone. Boil the juice of strawberries,
red raspberries, and currants twenty minutes, add the sugar, and finish,
as previously directed. Black raspberry juice is much thicker, and
requires less boiling.
CHERRY JELLY.--Jelly may be prepared from cherries by using with
the juice of cherries an equal amount of apple juice, which gives an
additional amount of pectose to the juice and does not perceptibly
change the flavor.
CRAB APPLE JELLY.--Choose the best Siberian crab apples; cut into
pieces, but do not pare or remove seeds. Place in a porcelain-lined or
granite-ware double boiler, with a cup of water for each six pounds of
fruit, and let them remain on the back of the range, with the water
slowly boiling, seven or eight hours. Leave in the boiler or turn into a
large china bowl, and keep well covered, all night. In the morning drain
off the juice and proceed as for apple jelly, using from one half to
three fourths of a pound of sugar to one of juice.
CRANBERRY JELLY.--Scald the berries and express the juice for other
jellies. Measure the juice, and allow three fourths of a pound of sugar
to one of juice. Boil twenty minutes, add the sugar hot, and finish as
directed for other jellies.
GRAPE JELLY.--Jelly from ripe grapes may be prepared in the same
manner as that made from the juice of berries. Jelly from green grapes
needs one half measure more of sugar.
ORANGE JELLY.--Express the juice of rather tart oranges, and use
with it an equal quantity of the juice of sub-acid apples, prepared in
the manner directed for apple jelly. For each pint of the mixed juice,
use one half pound of sugar and proceed as for other jellies.
PEACH JELLY.--Stone, pare, and slice the peaches, and steam them in
a double boiler. Express the juice, and add for each pint of peach juice
the juice of one lemon. Measure the juice and sugar, using three fourths
of a pound of sugar for each pint of juice, and proceed as already
directed. Jelly prepared from peaches will not be so firm as many fruit
jellies, owing to the small amount of pectose contained in their
composition.
A mixture of apples and peaches, in the proportion of one third of the
former to two thirds of the latter, makes a firmer jelly than peaches
alone. The apples should be pared and cored, so that their flavor will
not interfere with that of the peaches.
QUINCE JELLY.--Clean thoroughly good sound fruit, and slice thin.
Put into a double boiler with one cup of water for each five pounds of
fruit, and cook until softened. Express the juice, and proceed as with
other jellies, allowing three fourths of a pound of sugar to each pint
of juice. Tart or sweet apples may be used with quinces, in equal
proportions, and make a jelly of more pleasant flavor than quinces used
alone. The seeds of quinces contain considerable gelatinous substance,
and should be cooked with the quince for jelly making.
PLUM JELLY.--Use Damsons or Green Gages. Stone, and make in the
same way as for berry and other small fruit jellies.
FRUIT IN JELLY.--Prepare some apple jelly without sugar. When
boiled sufficiently to form, add to it, as it begins to cool, some nice,
stoned dates or seeded raisins. Orange jelly may be used instead of the
apple jelly, if preferred.
FRUIT JUICES.
As sauces for desserts and for summer beverages for sick or well, the
pure juices of fruits are most wholesome and delicious. So useful are
they and so little trouble to prepare, that no housewife should allow
the fruit season to pass by without putting up a full stock.
Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, currants, grapes, and cherries
are especially desirable. In preparing them, select only the best fruit,
ripe, but not over-ripe. Extract the juice by mashing the fruit and
slowly heating in the inner cup of a double boiler, till the fruit is
well scalded; too long heating will injure its color. Strain through a
jelly bag and let it drain slowly for a long time, but do not squeeze,
else some of the pulp will be forced through. Reheat slowly to boiling
and can the same as fruit. It may be put up with or without sugar. If
sugar is to be used, add it hot as for jelly, after the juice is
strained and reheated to boiling. For strawberries and currants,
raspberries and cherries, use one cup of sugar to a quart of juice.
Black raspberries and grapes require less sugar, while blueberries and
blackberries require none at all, or not more than a tablespoonful to
the quart. A mixed juice, of one part currants and two parts red or
black raspberries, has a very superior flavor.
_RECIPES._
GRAPE JUICE, OR UNFERMENTED WINE.--Take twenty-five pounds of some
well ripened very juicy variety of grapes, like the Concord. Pick them
from the stems, wash thoroughly, and scald without the addition of
water, in double boilers until the grapes burst open; cool, turn into
stout jelly bags, and drain off the juice without squeezing. Let the
juice stand and settle; turn off the top, leaving any sediment there may
be. Add to the juice about four pounds of best granulated sugar, reheat
to boiling, skim carefully, and can the same as fruit. Keep in a cool,
dark place. The wine, if to be sealed in bottles, will require a corker,
and the corks should first be boiled in hot water and the bottles well
sterilized.
GRAPE JUICE NO. 2.--Take grapes of the best quality, picked fresh
from the vines. Wash well after stripping from the stems, rejecting any
imperfect fruit. Put them in a porcelain or granite fruit kettle with
one pint of water to every three quarts of grapes, heat to boiling, and
cook slowly for fifteen minutes or longer, skimming as needed. Turn off
the juice and carefully filter it through a jelly bag, putting the seeds
and skins into a separate bag to drain, as the juice from them will be
less clear. Heat again to boiling, add one cupful of hot sugar to each
quart of juice, and seal in sterilized cans or bottles. The juice from
the skins and seeds should be canned separately.
ANOTHER METHOD.--Wash the grapes, and express the juice without
scalding the fruit. Strain the juice three or four times through muslin
or cheese cloth, allowing it to stand and settle for some time between
each filtering. To every three pints of juice add one of water and two
cupfuls of sugar. Heat to boiling, and keep at that temperature for
fifteen minutes, skim carefully, and bottle while at boiling heat. Set
away in a cool, dark place.
FRUIT SYRUP.--Prepare the juice expressed from strawberries,
raspberries, currants, or grapes, as directed above for fruit juices.
After it has come to a boil, add one pound of sugar to every quart of
juice. Seal in pint cans. It may be diluted with wate |
